FORT MCMURRAY – The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo has removed and stored its former light and dark blue residential recycling carts as the transition to single-stream recycling has been completed.
Collective Waste Solutions now provides residential recycling services throughout the region, while the municipality determines what will happen to the old carts.
“The carts are being temporarily stored at the Regional Landfill facility,” said Greg Bennett with RMWB Strategic Communications. “We’re exploring opportunities to recycle or repurpose them and administration is working with vendors to determine the best path forward.”
The carts are being kept in a storage area at the Regional Landfill facility that is separate from the area where garbage is disposed of.
Bennett said the municipality will provide an update once plans for the carts are finalized.
The clarification comes after an Edmonton-area blogger began circulating claims that approximately 38,000 municipal recycling bins had been collected and sent directly to landfill as part of the transition.
The post claimed the former municipal carts had been deposited in local landfills rather than being recycled or repurposed. It also connected the alleged disposal to Alberta’s move to an Extended Producer Responsibility recycling system and raised concerns about delays and residents waiting for replacement carts during the transition.
The RMWB says the central claim about the old carts being landfilled is incorrect.
“The RMWB’s light and dark blue recycling carts have not been discarded in the landfill,” Bennett said.
Instead, the carts remain in temporary storage at the Regional Landfill facility, separate from the garbage disposal area, while the municipality explores options to recycle or repurpose them.
The RMWB says it will provide updates once a decision on the bins is made.
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