Provincial recycling conference being staged in city

By Lethbridge Herald on February 22, 2022.

Al Beeber
Lethbridge Herald
abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

After COVID- 19 put a stop to their meetings, Chris Neilsen is looking forward to hosting a three-day Alberta CARE Network conference in Lethbridge this week.

Neilsen, an owner/operator of DBS Environmental, said Monday more than 100 delegates from the recycling industry and municipalities will be putting their heads together at the Sandman Signature Lethbridge Lodge to address mutual issues and concerns.

Alberta CARE has since 1994 worked with recycling groups, non-profits, industry and government to increase the viability of recycling initiatives in the province.

It focuses on co-ordination of regionally based recycling programs, promoting the benefits and importance of recycling and increasing public awareness of recycling challenges and opportunities, among other objectives.

Nielsen’s late father Duff and 83-year-old mom Carol started DBS (short for Duff’s Bulk Services) after divesting their Esso fuel business of the same name in Raymond 30 years ago.

They started with vacuum trucks here and the DBS side grew out of that operation.

Alberta CARE consists of waste management people and municipalities across the province.

Normally, the organization meets once or twice a year but this will be the first since COVID hit, Neilsen said.

“This is what’s referred to as a grassroots organization. These delegates are the people you would see at the landfills, transfer sites, recycling centres,” he said.

Delegates will train and hear what others’ problems are and make sure everyone in the industry is well-informed, Neilsen said.

Neilson has been involved with Alberta CARE for more than a dozen years.

Delegates use the conferences to keep themselves informed and learn what others in the industry are doing. A lot of common problems exist within the industry such as vandalism at sites.

“Everybody is trying to find a way to mitigate the damage,” Neilsen said.

“Municipal solid waste is so many things now other than your two bags of garbage. It’s recycling, it’s program collection from electronics to paint, tires, everything down to propane tanks. The demand on this group of people that work in these facilities every day is huge.

“They really rely on this group to fill them in with the answers. It doesn’t always come from the top down. This is driven to be bottom up,” said Neilsen.

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