New recycling program on council agenda

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on December 10, 2024.

Herald file photo by Ian Martens - A truck picks up recycling from a row of carts in a southside neighbourhood.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Lethbridge city council on Tuesday will be asked to opt in to the new Extended Producer Responsibility regulation established by the Alberta government.

The regulation makes the producer of printed paper and packaging responsible for the lifecycle of the material.

The program starts on April 1 and means city residents will no longer pay for curbside recycling on their utility bills.

Waste and Environment general manager Mandi Parker says in a report to council that while EPR is for residential and multi-family dwellings that have service provided by the City, those multi-family units that have an exemption to the program will stay at the status quo and will be brought in to the second phase in October of 2026.

Parker’s report says administration has been working with Circular Materials, presently the only Producer Responsibility Organization in the province, to negotiate terms and conditions for the City of Lethbridge to deliver curbside recycling services here.

The City will become a contractor for the delivery of recycling services which at another date could be provided by another contractor, says the report.

Parker’s report recommends council opt in to the EPR and authorize the City Manager to execute and manager the service contract with Circular Materials upon terms and conditions satisfactory to him. It also calls upon the City Manager to return in the first quarter of next year with amendments to Bylaw 6146 – the Waste Bylaw to facilitate the EPR program.

The City’s blue bin program is presently a utility charge on residences’ bills and is about $9 per month or a net of $7 with a two-dollar reduction on the garbage utility charge.

The report says residents will see reduced fees with the EPR program and those fees will be removed from their utility bills starting April 1.

“Extended producer responsibility (EPR) shifts the physical and financial burden of collecting, sorting, processing and recycling waste to product producers and away from local governments and taxpayers. Alberta’s new EPR system will focus on single-use products, packaging and paper products, as well as hazardous and special products. EPR means producers take responsibility at end-of-life for the products and packaging they put on the market. EPR programs incent producers to design products that are more durable and recyclable so materials and components can remain in the economy for as long as possible,” says Parker’s report.

That report says the Alberta approach aligns with other jurisdictions which empowers producers to do the following:

• create local recycling markets.

• design cost-effective and efficient recycling programs.

• demonstrate environmental responsibility.