Blue bins set to roll out across town

By Melissa Crispin-Piche Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Strathmore residents will soon have a new way to handle their household recycling, with a blue cart program set to begin Oct. 1.

Mayor Pat Fule said the change should be straightforward for residents and, most importantly, will not bring an additional cost to households.

“The Town of Strathmore believes that it’s going to be a real seamless and easy to switch over kind of a program,” Fule said. “It’s going to be a very good transitional one, and it’s not going to cost any more money, so there is no additional cost through residential property taxes or municipal utility bills.”

The program is part of Alberta’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system and will be managed by Circular Materials, a not-for-profit organization. Fule emphasized the recycling service will not be operated by the Town of Strathmore.

“It’s actually quite interesting because there’s been a lot more work with companies that produce products so that they take more of an ownership as far as recycling,” he said.

The new system will use single stream recycling, meaning residents will not have to separate accepted recyclable materials before placing them in their blue cart.

Blue carts are being delivered to households that currently receive residential garbage collection from the town. Fule said residents should continue placing their carts in the same location where their garbage is normally collected including homes that receive alley pickup.

“People don’t always assume that curbside does include the alleys, but in Strathmore it does,” he said. “If your garbage and recycling carts were collected in the back alley, then your new blue cart will also be collected there as well.”

Residents will not need to begin moving carts to the front of their properties simply because the new service is described as curbside recycling.

“Wherever you had your garbage picked up, that’s where you’ll put your new blue cart for recycling,” Fule said.

For residents who currently pay for recycling collection through Waste Management, Fule said his understanding is that the existing service will end as the new town-wide program takes over.

“At some point it just won’t come back,” he said of the existing recycling carts. “It will be picked up and you’ll never see it again and then that (new) blue bin will take its place.”

Fule said he does not believe residents currently using Waste Management recycling service will have to take action themselves to cancel it.

“I was told by Waste Management that it’ll just end for everybody,” he said. He added that residents should contact Waste Management if billing continues after the transition.

The change is specifically aimed at households already receiving town garbage collection. Residents who see garbage collection on their municipal utility bill will receive the new recycling service without an additional charge.

The process will be different for some people living in multifamily developments, such as condominiums, where waste collection may not currently be provided by the town.

“If you’re living in a condo, for example, you might want to talk to your property manager,” he said, adding buildings not currently using the town garbage collection program could potentially register for the new program. “If you’re not getting any blue bin pickup and you want it, then talk to your condo board or your property manager.”

Information about which materials can and cannot be placed in the carts will be made available to residents. Fule said the town will also look at providing additional information through its website and social media channels.

Beyond making recycling more convenient, Fule said one of the biggest benefits he hopes to see from the program is a reduction in the amount of household waste Strathmore sends to landfill.

“It’s going to decrease the amount of materials that are going to go into landfill,” he said.

Fule pointed to the growing responsibility being placed on producers to deal with the materials and packaging they introduce into the marketplace along with the opportunities to turn some of those materials into new products.

“More and more you’re having large companies that are going to recycle their materials,” he said. “They have to take ownership for that.”