Expanded Recycling Program Coming To Vermilion River Communities October 1

Residents throughout the County of Vermilion River and surrounding communities will soon have more opportunities to recycle as Alberta expands its residential recycling program on October 1, introducing blue bag collection to additional communities, accepting a wider range of household materials and making recycling more accessible for rural residents.   

The expansion marks the second phase of Alberta's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program, which shifts responsibility for funding and managing residential packaging and paper recycling from municipalities to the companies that supply these products. Circular Materials, a national not for profit organization, oversees the program and works with municipalities and service providers to deliver recycling services throughout the province.   

The expanded program will serve residents in Vermilion, Dewberry, Clandonald, Marwayne, Streamstown, Kitscoty, Islay, Blackfoot, Paradise Valley and surrounding areas.   

Residents living within communities will receive curbside recycling services and be able to place all accepted recyclable materials together in blue recycling bags without having to separate paper, cardboard, plastics and metal. Filled blue bags will be placed at the curb every second week on their collection day.   

For farmers, acreage owners and other rural residents living outside communities with curbside blue bag collection, recyclable materials can be taken to their area's designated recycling transfer station.   

The County of Vermilion River operates several waste transfer stations, including locations in Vermilion, Kitscoty, Marwayne, Dewberry/Clandonald, Paradise Valley, Tulliby Lake and Preston areas. Under the expanded program, rural residents will no longer need to sort accepted recyclable materials into separate bins at participating transfer stations, making recycling more convenient.   

Beginning October 1, residents will also be able to recycle a wider variety of everyday household packaging and paper products, including several items that previously had to be placed in the garbage. The expanded list includes glass containers, foam packaging, flexible plastic packaging, empty aerosol containers and laminated paper and plastic packaging.   

Examples of accepted recyclable materials include:

• Paper and cardboard: Newspapers, magazines, flyers, office paper, envelopes, paper bags, cereal boxes, tissue boxes, cardboard packaging and flattened corrugated cardboard boxes.   

• Plastic containers: Empty plastic bottles, shampoo and conditioner bottles, laundry detergent containers, yogurt containers, margarine tubs and other accepted plastic food and household product containers.   

• Metal packaging: Empty food cans, soup cans, vegetable cans, aluminum foil, aluminum food trays and other accepted household metal packaging.   

• Glass containers: Empty glass food jars, pickle jars, pasta sauce jars and non deposit glass bottles. No canning jars.   

• Foam packaging: Foam meat trays, foam egg cartons, foam takeout food containers and other accepted foam packaging.   

• Flexible plastic packaging: Chip bags, bread bags, plastic grocery bags, stretchy plastic bags, pet food bags, plastic food wrappers and other accepted flexible plastic packaging.   

• Empty aerosol containers: Empty aerosol cans from household products such as hairspray, deodorant and other non hazardous aerosol products.   

• Laminated packaging: Certain food packaging made from layers of paper and plastic, including accepted laminated pouches and other multi layer packaging, for example baby food pouches.   

Residents are encouraged to ensure recyclable containers are empty and give them a quick rinse, whenever possible, to remove food residue before placing them in their blue bags. Cardboard boxes should be flattened and placed in blue or translucent bags to reduce the amount of space they occupy, while other accepted recyclable materials can be placed together without sorting in a bag.   

Keeping recyclable materials reasonably clean and dry helps prevent contamination and improves the efficiency of the recycling process. All recyclables must be in translucent bags, black bags will not be picked up.   

Hazardous materials, batteries, medical sharps and other prohibited items should not be placed in blue bags or regular recycling containers. These materials require separate disposal through appropriate recycling or waste management facilities.   

Alberta's beverage container deposit system will also remain separate from the blue bag recycling program, with residents encouraged to continue returning eligible beverage containers to bottle depots for refunds.   

To help residents navigate the changes, Circular Materials offers a free mobile app that allows users to check their scheduled recycling collection days, find out which materials are accepted and access recycling information specific to their community.   

Beginning October 1, the app will also feature a convenient tool that allows users to take a photo of an item to determine whether it can be recycled through the program, helping take the guesswork out of recycling.   

Residents can download the Circular Materials app to their smartphones or visit www.circularmaterials.ca for more information about their local recycling program, accepted materials and collection schedules. Residents are encouraged to check their community's collection schedule, as the first recycling pickup date may vary depending on their location.