New Era in Recycling in Red Deer: What is Changing Starting from 1 Ekim?

The city of Red Deer, located in Canada's Alberta province, is preparing for a significant change in its blue recycling carts starting 1 Ekim. With the new regulation, many new materials such as glass, aerosol cans, plastics, and foam packaging will now be collected in the blue carts. This change is directly linked to the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulation adopted by the province in October 2023. The regulation aims to transfer the responsibility of recycling programs from local governments to product manufacturers. Thus, product and packaging manufacturers are held responsible for covering all costs of the recycling program and achieving the set recycling targets.

Circular Materials, the non-profit organization responsible for managing the Extended Producer Responsibility program, took full control of the community recycling programs as of 1 Nisan 2025. With this transition, residents in Red Deer who have individual blue carts stopped paying for this service and started saving 5,20 dollars monthly. Those benefiting from recycling collection services in multi-family homes received a monthly discount of 5,15 dollars. The second phase of the transition, which will begin on 1 Ekim, will significantly expand the variety of materials that can be collected in the blue bins. During this process, it is aimed for all communities to use a standard list consisting of the same acceptable materials.

With the new implementation, there will be no scheduling or bin changes in Red Deer's recycling collection programs. However, among the new products that can be thrown into the blue bins from now on will be glass, foam packaging, single-use coffee lids, plastic bags, food wrap films, bubble wraps, toothpaste tubes, and other squeezable containers such as aerosols. Red Deer Waste Management Manager Janet Cunningham stated that the recycling program fundamentally focuses on packaging waste. Cunningham emphasized that if a packaging goes to a resident's home along with a product, it must be handled by the manufacturers through Circular Materials as required by the legislation.

Cunningham believes the new system will greatly facilitate the recycling process for the public. The increase in options when sorting at home will make it easier for people to make decisions and dispose of the correct waste in appropriate places. For example, when paper towels are purchased, the box of the product and the plastic packaging wrapping it can be thrown into the blue carts, while the paper towel itself will not be recycled since it is a product. Similarly, plastic toys or other plastic products will not be collected in the blue carts. Cunningham added that over time, this situation will become much more advantageous for everyone. Furthermore, this standardization will solve a major confusion by eliminating the distinct recycling rules across different communities.

On the other hand, this new situation presents a great opportunity for communities that currently do not have curbside recycling services. Starting from 1 Ekim, settlements that have long been unable to benefit from this service will also get their own blue carts. The fact that Circular Materials will operate on a province-wide scale will improve economies of scale, making the process much more efficient. In addition to these developments, Cunningham stated that it will help alleviate the concerns of those who have doubts about whether their waste is actually recycled. As announced in May, WM, North America's largest recycling company, was selected to manage the post-collection processes, and the company plans to open a new recycling facility equipped with the newest technological systems in Edmonton.