Producers in Alberta and Manitoba will soon be able to recycle their 23L plastic pesticide and fertilizer containers at local ag retail locations.
The shift, spearheaded by Cleanfarms, will move recycling locations away from municipal transfer stations and landfill facilities to ag retailers, where producers already bring their larger, 23L to 1000L plastic recyclables.
The entire switch over is expected to roll out over the next three years with changes in certain locations starting this year.
Barry Friesen, executive director of Cleanfarms, says there are several reasons why the change to ag retailers makes sense.
“Transitioning to a retail-based collection for the jug program shifts responsibility to accept empty containers from Manitoba municipalities to the ag industry, which harmonizes the collection system across Canada. In all other provinces except Manitoba and Alberta, we collect empty containers at ag retailers,” says Friesen.
To make the process even more streamlined for ag producers, the retail locations accepting the recyclables will have plastic bags on hand that can hold upwards of 45 empty 23L containers.
In Alberta, the following municipal sites are slated to stop accepting the plastic containers:
- Airdrie Transfer Site
- Colinton Transfer Station
- Bellis Transfer Station
- Blueberry Transfer Station
- Bragg Creek Transfer Site
- East Calgary Landfill
- Clover Bar Landfill / Edmonton Waste Management Centre
- Smokey River Regional Landfill
- Flatbush Waste Transfer Station
- Fort Saskatchewan Recycling and Transfer Station
- Bindloss Waste Transfer Station
- Beaver Lake Landfill
- Tomahawk Transfer Station
- Tulliby Lake Transfer Station
- Weberville Waste Transfer Station
- Rolla Transfer Station (PRRD)
- Langdon Transfer Site
- Mallaig Waste Transfer Station
- Picture Butte Waste Transfer Station
- Clearwater County Regional Landfill
- Spedden Landfill
In Manitoba, the following 10 sites will no longer be accepting the 23L ag plastic containers, as of this year:
- Bellsite
- Bowsman
- Carman
- Forrest
- Miami
- Roland
- Stonewall
- Whitemouth
- Woodnorth
- Onanole
Cleanfarms says if producers do go there after the sites stop accepting the waste containers, signage is prominent, along with Cleanfarms website information to redirect producers to the new, nearby collection sites.
