New provincial recycling program stirs grumblings in northern Alberta community

A new provincially-mandated recycling program has sparked frustration among some residents in Fort McMurray, with complaints ranging from missed cart deliveries to old bins sitting uncollected weeks after the transition.

It has been two weeks since the new program came into effect in the northern Albertan community on Oct. 1.

Chelsea Wood, who lives in the Thickwood neighbourhood of Fort McMurray, said she still does not have access to a new recycling cart despite repeated calls for help.

“Everyone on my street got one except for me,” Wood said, adding she contacted the municipality’s Pulse call line and was repeatedly told someone would investigate the problem.

According to Wood, the issue appears to have stemmed from how bins were delivered to townhouse residents. Wood said she was later told her assigned cart had been delivered to a neighbouring residence.

“Every time we call, they keep saying that they fixed it or they’re going to fix it. Nothing happens,” she said, adding officials suggested she retrieve it herself and have the neighbour contact the service provider for a replacement.

Other residents have raised concerns online about old municipal recycling carts not being picked up following the transition, while some households have reported delays receiving the new blue carts required under the updated system.

The changes are part of Alberta’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework, which shifts responsibility for residential recycling programs from municipalities to producers of packaging and paper products.

As of Oct. 1, Circular Materials – a not-for-profit producer-responsibility organization – took over management of recycling programs for packaging and paper products in participating Alberta communities.

Under the new system, residents are receiving new blue recycling carts supplied through Circular Materials and serviced by Collective Waste Solutions Inc. Collection services in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which began the week of Oct. 5.

Circular Materials says the EPR system is fully funded by producers, including companies that supply packaging and paper products to consumers. The organization says the change means municipalities and taxpayers no longer directly pay for recycling services and is intended to improve recycling rates, increase efficiency, and provide more consistent service levels across the province.

The transition also includes a move to single-stream recycling at Alberta depots, allowing residents to place accepted recyclables into a single container rather than sorting materials by type.

Municipal officials say the transition required the collection of thousands of municipally-owned recycling carts that were assigned to specific residences before the new system came into effect.

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo told Postmedia nearly 38,000 light and dark blue recycling bins are currently being stored at the regional landfill while options are explored to recover some of their value.

The municipality said it collected the carts between Sept. 22 and Oct. 6 and that while most carts were removed during that period, “some carts may still require collection.”

Officials said residents whose old carts have not yet been picked up should contact Pulse to arrange collection or deliver them to the public drop-off area at the regional landfill free of charge.

The municipality said it continued providing curbside recycling collection through an 18-month bridging agreement with Circular Materials that ended Sept. 30, with the second phase of the EPR transition taking effect the following day.

Residents shared doubts regarding why they were unable to keep their old carts, given their high reusability.

“The recycling carts are municipal property and were assigned to specific residences,” the municipality said in a statement. “Following the transition to the new recycling program, the municipality collected the carts to ensure they are properly managed and recover some costs.”

The municipality added it is reviewing the “financial impacts” of the transition and said any resulting budget implications will be reported to council in a future update.

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