The Town of St. Paul could be headed toward a major shift in how recycling is handled, with the administration saying a blue-cart recycling system is likely to come in 2027.

Chief Administrative Officer Steven Jeffery told council the change would move residents away from the current depot-style approach and toward a single-stream curbside system, where recyclables would all go into one cart and be sorted later at a processing facility.

“It is looking like it’s very highly likely that we’ll be moving towards a blue bin setup for recycling within the Town of St. Paul,” Jeffery said.

He said the new system would not be run directly by the Town. Instead, a third-party organization working on behalf of municipalities and the province would manage the rollout, education, maintenance and operations.

Jeffery said residents would likely receive a cart similar to the one already used for garbage pickup, with collection expected to happen every two weeks.

“One of the most important things I can mention… is that this is single stream,” he said. “You’re not going to need to separate out your recyclables any further. It all goes into this cart.”

While no final launch date has been confirmed, Jeffery said all signs currently point to some point in 2027.

Council members acknowledged the shift may take some getting used to, but also suggested residents may welcome a simpler system if it makes recycling easier.

Jeffery said one of the next steps will likely be to call a citizens’ waste advisory committee meeting to build awareness and understanding before the change arrives.

The recycling discussion came during Jeffery’s administration report, where he said the Town is also continuing to work with consultants on the regional waste study tied to Evergreen Regional Waste Commission member municipalities.

He said the Town has also had broader discussions about what the future of recycling should look like both locally and regionally.