Residents across the County of St. Paul could soon see expanded recycling options at transfer stations and bin sites as council moves toward participating in Alberta’s new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program.

During the May 12 council meeting, administration outlined how the provincewide recycling model is shifting costs away from municipalities and taxpayers and onto producers and manufacturers responsible for packaging waste.

Agriculture and Waste Supervisor Chris explained the county is currently in Phase 1 of the program, which began in April 2025 and focuses mainly on cardboard collection.

Under the current arrangement, the county operates cardboard recycling at transfer stations and select bin sites while receiving compensation from Circular Materials, the non-profit organization overseeing the provincial system.

The county currently receives about $5,400 per month through the program, along with additional funding for promotion and education efforts.

Council heard that Phase 2, expected to launch Oct. 1, 2026, would dramatically expand the materials residents can recycle.

Those materials would include:

• cardboard
• plastics
• household packaging
• clamshell containers
• some aerosol cans
• glass
• Styrofoam

Chris explained that the new model would allow many recyclable materials to be placed together in a single collection bin, rather than requiring residents to sort materials themselves.

The province’s new EPR framework shifts responsibility for recycling programs from municipalities to companies that produce packaging and other recyclable materials.

Chris told the council that municipalities historically carried the cost of recycling programs if they chose to offer them, but under the new regulations, producers now contribute funding to a centralized recycling system managed by Circular Materials.

Council discussed several possible approaches moving forward, including:

• operating the expanded system directly
• contracting operations out
• allowing Circular Materials to fully manage sites
• opting out entirely

Administration strongly leaned toward what it called a “depot-only” agreement.

Under that option, the county would provide and maintain the sites while Circular Materials or its contractors would supply bins, trucking and pickup scheduling.

The county would continue to maintain waste sites but would avoid purchasing expensive equipment, such as front-load trucks or additional recycling infrastructure.

Councillors repeatedly emphasized they did not want taxpayers covering major new costs.

One councillor stated they were not interested in the county spending money on additional trucks or infrastructure and wanted the program handled as cost-effectively as possible.

Administration also noted the expanded service would provide residents with significantly more recycling opportunities than the county currently offers.

Another councillor described the proposal as a rare win-win situation because it could increase service levels while reducing costs to ratepayers.

Council ultimately passed a motion directing administration to pursue Option 2 — the depot-only approach — while continuing negotiations with Circular Materials.

Administration noted details surrounding compensation, pickup schedules, exit clauses and final agreements are still being negotiated.

The county hopes to finalize an agreement before the end of May, although administration acknowledged that the timeline may be ambitious.