Recycling
Changes to recycling started March 1
The separation is over!
Paper recycling can now be placed in a clear blue plastic bag with your container recycling! There is no longer a cost savings to separating recyclables and combining (commingling) recycling will make it more convenient.
Preparing your recyclables
- Recycling is collected every week on your collection day.
- Recycling may be collected at a different time than the organics or waste.
- There is no limit to the amount of recyclables you can leave out for collection.
- Recyclables are sorted at a materials recovery facility by both machines, and humans. Please ensure that all broken glass and sharps are wrapped and placed in your black cart and not placed in your recycling.
- Keep your blue bag under 25 kg (50 lb)
- Containers must be rinsed and dried and placed in clear blue plastic bags available at grocery and hardware stores.
- Cardboard must be flattened and each piece must be no larger than 0.6 m x 1 m (2 feet by 3 feet). Cardboard that doesn't fit inside the blue bag may be placed under or beside the blue bag. Any cardboard that can't be cut or folded down can be brought to Strathcona's recycling stations.
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Acceptable recyclables If you have questions about what items are acceptable, call us or view the A to Z list. |
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Winnifred Stewart, a local non-profit association, sells both compostable and blue bags. Call 780-451-5142 or visit their website for more details.
If you notice another location that should be added, please let us know and we will add it to the list.
What happens to all of our recyclables once they leave the curb?
The economic downturn affects all of us - even the recycling industry. As a result of world-wide circumstances, some recyclable materials, such as Styrofoam and some plastics (plastic film, packaging etc.) are currently not being made into new products. Markets for turning these items into new products fluctuates frequently. When markets aren't available, these items are sent to landfill. When markets become available, these items are recycled. Because the market changes quickly, we want you to continue to separate these products as you have been, put them into your clear blue plastic bag. The Utilities department is continually looking for new opportunities to make sure that recycling and waste diversion is maximized.
Our recyclables currently goes to a local materials recovery facility (MRF). The containers are separated into appropriate streams, metal cans, paper products, glass, mixed plastics, milk jugs and plastic bottles with screw top lids. Aluminium cans are made into new cans. Did you know there is no limit to the amount of times an aluminium can can be recycled? Also recycling one aluminium can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours!
Plastic bottles are sent to be made into new products such as detergent bottles, buckets, flower pots and roll-out carts (the carts used in Strathcona County have over 60 per cent post-consumer materials). Glass is made into new glass bottles or can be ground up and used in road construction materials. The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle instead of making a new one can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours!
Our paper products are made into other paper products such as box board, cardboard, pulp, gypsum paper, roofing felt and other recycled paper. Did you know that each tonne of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy and 7,000 gallons of water? In 2010 we recycled 4,533 tonnes of paper products. That's a lot of trees!
For further information:
780-449-5514
greenroutine@strathcona.ca
Last updated: Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Page ID: 2203