Alberta has joined the rest of Canada in establishing an extended producer responsibility (EPR) system that will keep thousands of kilograms of waste out of landfills.
The provincewide system will improve recycling programs and is expected to save communities and taxpayers money.
The system shifts the financial burden of recycling single-use products away from municipalities and onto the companies that produce those packages and products. By making producers responsible, EPR encourages them to find new ways to reduce waste and design products that are more recyclable and reusable.
Cochrane’s waste and recycling manager, Fabrizio Bertolo, says it's a major step forward in waste management that has been in the works since late 2022.
“The EPR system shifts the financial and operational responsibility for collecting, sorting, processing and recycling these materials to the producers and away from local governments and taxpayers,” said Bertolo.
“It creates an economy of scale. The producers are paying for the management of the end of life for these materials, so they will need to put into the market materials that are easily recyclable. Otherwise, they will pay the cost for it. So it’s in their interest to create more recyclable items and also reduce the amount of packaging that goes into the market.”
Alberta’s EPR programs include thousands of different single-use products, packaging and paper, along with hazardous and special products like batteries and pesticides
With similar systems in place across Canada, he believes it’s unlikely consumers will see an increase in costs reflected in product prices.
What it means financially to Cochrane’s recycling system will become clearer later this month. Bertolo says they are currently in negotiations with EPR producers and will provide town council with an update during one of their April committee-of-the-whole meetings.