FORT MCMURRAY — Recycling services are changing across most of Wood Buffalo beginning Oct. 5 as responsibility for residential recycling shifts from the municipality to producers under Alberta’s Extended Producer Responsibility program.
The changes will bring curbside recycling to Conklin, Fort McKay and Janvier for the first time, while residents in Fort McMurray, Anzac, Draper, Gregoire Lake Estates, Saprae Creek Estates and other communities will see changes to their existing service.
Recycling service in Fort Chipewyan will not change.
Residents receiving curbside service will get new blue recycling carts from Circular Materials, while the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo will coordinate collection of the old recycling carts.
Recycling will also be collected on a different day from regular garbage. Collective Waste Solutions will take over recycling collection, while the municipality will continue collecting black garbage carts on existing pickup days.
Residents will no longer need to sort accepted recyclable materials before putting them in their blue carts.
The list of accepted materials is also expanding to include items such as glass and foam packaging, which can be recycled curbside or at public drop-off locations.
Circular Materials is developing individual collection schedules for communities and is expected to release pickup days, cart information and accepted-material lists in the coming weeks.
The changes are part of Alberta’s Extended Producer Responsibility, or EPR, program, which shifts the financial and operational responsibility for recycling single-use packaging and paper products away from municipalities and onto the companies supplying those products.
After Oct. 5, Circular Materials will be responsible for residential recycling and related service inquiries in Wood Buffalo.
The municipality says additional information on carts, collection schedules and changes affecting individual neighbourhoods and communities will be released throughout September.
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