The Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens, is set to introduce infinitely recyclable cups made from aluminium produced in the Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean region, in Québec, for use at sporting and entertainment events thanks to a new partnership between Rio Tinto and the Montreal Canadiens.

The five-year partnership is part of the Montreal Canadiens’ The Goal is Green initiative, presented by Banque Nationale, which aims to reduce the environmental footprint of the organization, support green and renewable resources and encourage fans to do the same.

Groupe CH executive VP and chief operations and venues officer Daniel Trottier said: “When Montreal Canadiens fans make their way towards the Bell Centre to cheer on their favourite team, they first walk through La Cour Rio Tinto where we celebrate the Greats of our storied franchise. It is fitting to see our next-door neighbour deepen its partnership with our organisation by supplying the aluminium we need in order to reduce our environmental footprint and enable our fans to do the same.”

The new aluminium cups are expected to replace 1.5-million single-use plastic cups annually, which represents approximately 24 t – or the equivalent of a fully loaded large truck – of plastic removed from the environment. The city of Montreal banned the use of single-use plastics earlier this year.

Sébastien Ross, MD Aluminium Atlantic Operations at Rio Tinto said: “The low-carbon aluminium we proudly produce right here in Québec is reusable, traceable, and infinitely recyclable. Our company has deep roots in Montreal and the province of Québec, and through partnerships such as this one, we are finding better ways to provide the materials needed to make events and locations in our host communities more sustainable.”

Rio Tinto’s hydro-powered operations in Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean, carried by more than 4 000 employees, produce some of the lowest carbon aluminium in the world. While the partnership comes into effect immediately, cups made of 100% locally sourced aluminium from Rio Tinto will be available to fans by the end of 2023, and will display a new, original design.