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By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

RECYCLING GETTING REVAMPED

Red Deer to explore becoming contracted service provider under EPR policy

Sep 5, 2024 | 4:53 PM

Back-end changes could be coming to Red Deer’s recycling system as city council has opted to participate in Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), a policy implemented by the provincial government to shift end of life product management from municipalities to producers.

EPR legislation was enacted in 2022 and council registered the City in 2023 so it could have a seat at the table during the transition process. The intent of the EPR is to create consistency in recycling across the province, meaning all residents would have a comparable list of what can be recycled, and potentially reduce municipal expenses on the matter.

Under the EPR policy, Red Deer has the option to participate as a contracted service provider or turn operations over to the program.

In the Sept. 3 regular council meeting, council unanimously agreed to remain registered under the EPR, and directed administration to prepare a report of the costs, benefits, and risks of becoming a contracted service provider. This report is expected to be completed and return to council in Q4 of 2024.

Currently, Red Deer’s recycling is funded through the City’s utility fees. A contracted service collects the items, sorts them, and sells the materials to different markets. Under the EPR, organizations would be responsible for sorting and processing the materials they produce.

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If Red Deer were to register as a contracted service provider, the City would become the primary body being contracted, and paid, to do the work by the producers, Janet Whitesell, waste management superintendent, explained. Producers are requesting that municipalities wishing to become contracted service providers have council pass resolutions on the matter by October 31.

Administration said challenges associated with the current model include a lack of feedback mechanisms they can use to alert producers of difficult-to-manage packaging, and a lack of financial incentive for them to change it.

Whitesell said that Alberta is late to the game to enact such a policy and from looking at other models, says there should be a minimal impact to how Red Deer residents experience the service.

“Many of those companies set national pricing, so when we go to the grocery store and we buy that box of cereal it costs the same here as it does in British Columbia, and British Columbia has had Extended Producer Responsibility in place for more than a decade now. So, the research is showing there shouldn’t be a measurable impact at the consumer stage either, in the grocery stores. Ultimately that cost impact has probably already be absorbed,” she said.

Although further research needs to be done for a completely clear picture, Whitesell estimates that participating in EPR could lead to about $2.5- to $3 million in annual savings for the City.

Whitesell added, the policy does exempt charities as well as small businesses that make less than $1.5 million from registering as producers.

The EPR policy applies to producers of packaging, paper products, and single-use products and producers of hazardous and special products. The legislation tasks these producers with providing a common collection system and meeting recycling targets for their products as of April 1, 2025.

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