Alberta has reclaimed the top spot in Canada for beverage container recycling, just as the province rolls out a new system to overhaul how other household waste is collected and paid for.
Albertans returned more than two billion beverage containers in 2024, reaching an 85 per cent return rate — the highest in the country and second in North America, behind only Oregon.
"Albertans are winners and these results prove it," Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz said in a statement. "When you are finished with your cans and bottles, recycle. Put money back in your pocket."
The province’s beverage container program accepts a wider range of materials than most other jurisdictions, including plastic, metal, glass, cartons, juice boxes, pouches, gable tops and bag-in-a-box containers. Saskatchewan (84 per cent), British Columbia (83 per cent), Ontario (75 per cent) and Quebec (68 per cent) rounded out the national leaderboard.
While beverage containers are handled under Alberta’s deposit-return system, a separate overhaul of recycling for single-use packaging and hazardous products took effect April 1. The new extended producer responsibility (EPR) system shifts the cost of recycling those materials from municipalities to the companies that produce them.
Schulz said the new structure would reduce landfill waste and save taxpayers money without changing how Albertans recycle. According to provincial data, Albertans generate 1,034 kilograms of landfill waste per person each year — the highest rate in Canada.
Under EPR, producers are financially responsible for recycling items like packaging, paper, batteries and flammable materials. More than 90 per cent of Alberta’s population, including residents in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer and Lethbridge, are now covered by the new system, with smaller communities joining in phases through 2026.
Calgary Coun. Peter Demong called it a "big win for the economy and the environment," saying the shift would help lower household recycling fees. The province said many municipalities have already signalled taxpayer savings under the new model.
Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation board chair Ken White credited the province’s deposit-return success to an "industry-led system," while the Alberta Recycling Management Authority is now overseeing the EPR rollout. The authority has managed recycling for oil, tires, paint and electronics for more than 30 years.
The figures come from Alberta’s reporting to the Global Deposit Book, an international benchmarking report that ranked the province first in Canada and just behind Oregon’s 87 per cent beverage container return rate in North America.
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