Councillors considering charging Calgarians less in monthly waste and recycling
Social Sharing
Calgarians could see a drop in their monthly recycling fees, as Alberta looks to put the onus on companies rather than consumers.
On Thursday, city council's community development committee will discuss transitioning to Alberta's new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program.
The program, which will be fully implemented in April, is intended to shift the physical and financial responsibility of recycling products to the companies behind those products in a bid to producers to recycle more materials and create less packaging waste.
In turn, the committee will discuss cutting Calgarians' monthly Blue Cart Program charge down from $9.34 this year to $2.17.
The result would save each Calgarian who pays that fee more than $86 per year.
Ward 14 Coun. Peter Demong has been researching and advocating for EPR for nearly eight years. In 2019, he pushed council to vote to support a province-wide study of the issue and worked with other municipalities around Alberta to bring that research to the provincial government, touting its environmental and financial benefits.
Demong said that if someone told him when he was first elected to council in 2010 that he was going to be so passionate about recycling, he'd have laughed.
But he said reading reports about hundreds of thousands tonnes of waste being buried moved him to act.
"You know it can go to a better, higher purpose, that you can save your constituents money, that you can improve the environment and the economy at the same time," Demong said.
"It just suddenly becomes a no-brainer that somebody needs to champion this and get it across the finish line."
He added that city councillors are often hearing about how every user fee residents pay is too high and bringing the blue bin fee down is one way council can respond.
"It's going to benefit Calgarians mostly by their pocketbook," Demong said.
"Studies have [also] shown significantly higher recycling rates, higher volunteerism rates to actually do the recycling, it's better for the environment, less goes into the landfill, [and] it encourages the producers to change their product mix so that paper packaging products are more easily recyclable and more easily identifiable as recyclable."
EPR hands the responsibility and cost of recycling to producers for packaging and paper products, and hazardous and special products like batteries, pesticides, and products that are flammable, corrosive or toxic.
Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott, the chair of the community development committee, says the motion is likely to pass. The initiative is all about ensuring the right person pays for the responsibility of recycling, he told reporters on Tuesday.
"[In] most of Alberta, most of the country, the cost of doing business like this gets slowly filtered down to the taxpayer," Walcott said.
"This is one of the programs that actually makes sure whoever's doing the pollution, in this case with plastic packaging and recyclable packaging, is the one who's paying for it or reducing it. Both of those are good for citizens."
The EPR program will also create a consistent list of materials that can be recycled across Alberta in an attempt to make the system more straightforward.
The new program also means recycling regulation and oversight will move from city council to the province.
After being discussed by committee on Thursday, transitioning to EPR will go to a city council meeting later in February to prepare for the province's implementation in April.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Cision Canada
5 hours ago
- Cision Canada
AtkinsRéalis and France's EDF Sign Pivotal Global Nuclear Collaboration Agreement Français
AtkinsRéalis and EDF to expand existing global partnership to collaborate more closely and respond to new nuclear reactor opportunities around the world. This agreement will expand the strategic partnership between Canada and France, enabling better integration of their nuclear industries while preserving each country's sovereignty over their respective proprietary CANDU® and EPR technologies. Areas of potential collaboration to include engineering support, provisioning of equipment, sharing of operational excellence, installation & commissioning, and cooperation between the global technology centres of both organizations. The agreement also includes potential collaboration around waste management and fuel production. Both companies will continue to compete on reactor technology selection where appropriate. EDF and AtkinsRéalis have the potential to support local value creation by driving enhanced Canadian job opportunities. MONTREAL, June 9, 2025 /CNW/ - AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. (TSX: ATRL), a world-class engineering services and nuclear company with offices around the world, today announced it has concluded a pivotal collaboration agreement with Électricité de France (EDF), one of the world's leading electricity production and distribution companies. "This collaboration agreement with a world-class organization like EDF is a gamechanger for the nuclear industry and makes good strategic sense," said Ian L. Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer, AtkinsRéalis. "There is a global need for more cleaner, affordable and reliable energy that can only be achieved with nuclear power. Only by scaling up our efforts can we address the need for more low-carbon energy and for global market demand of 1000 large and small reactors." The collaboration agreement, which will expand the strategic partnership between the two nuclear power nations and better integrate their respective industries, will cover both pre-technology and post-technology vendor selection processes and will include: Engineering support The provision of non-reactor equipment Sharing of best practices Installation and commissioning services Engagement between the centres of excellence of each organization Both companies will continue to compete on reactor technology vendor selection processes where appropriate or when asked by governments and developers in support of global efforts to transition to low-carbon energy. "AtkinsRéalis is already working with EDF in the UK and France as a strategic partner in their new nuclear build program. This collaboration strengthens our relationship and will enable both organizations to extend international capacity, while harnessing their collective expertise and technical capabilities, to support the next wave of nuclear generation in the coming years," said Joe St. Julian, President, Nuclear, AtkinsRéalis. "The deepening of our partnership with AtkinsRéalis underscores EDF's commitment to steering progress in the nuclear industry alongside our valued Canadian partner. By combining their global and complementary expertise, knowledge and skills, both our companies demonstrate their dedication to fostering innovation and bolstering both our nations' nuclear capabilities for enhanced energy sovereignty and security. The power of working together will drive us forward in Canada, in Europe and around the world," said Vakis Ramany, SVP, International Nuclear Development, EDF. About AtkinsRéalis Created by the integration of long-standing organizations dating back to 1911, AtkinsRéalis is a world-class engineering services and nuclear company dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. We create sustainable solutions that connect people, data and technology to transform the world's infrastructure and energy systems. We deploy global capabilities locally to our clients and deliver unique end-to-end services across the whole life cycle of an asset including consulting, advisory & environmental services, intelligent networks & cybersecurity, design & engineering, procurement, project & construction management, operations & maintenance, decommissioning and capital. The breadth and depth of our capabilities are delivered to clients in strategic sectors such as Engineering Services, Nuclear and Capital. News and information are available at or follow us on LinkedIn. About EDF The EDF Group is a key player in the energy transition, as an integrated energy operator engaged in all aspects of the energy business: power generation, distribution, trading, energy sales and energy services. The Group is a world leader in low-carbon energy, with a low carbon output of 490TWh, and a diverse generation mix based mainly on nuclear and renewable energy (including hydropower). It is also investing in new technologies to support the energy transition. EDF's "raison d'être" is to build a net zero energy future with electricity and innovative solutions and services, to help save the planet and drive well-being and economic development. The Group supplies energy and services to approximately 41.5 million customers and generated consolidated sales of €118.7 bn in 2024. With 66 reactors in operation worldwide, 57 reactors currently in operation in France and 9 reactors in the United Kingdom, EDF has the world's largest nuclear fleet operated by one single operator. EDF provides a suite of technologies built on over half a century of experience such as EPR, the EDF's flagship product already in operation in three countries: China, Finland & France and with two units under construction (Hinkley Point C) and two units under development (Sizewell C) in the United Kingdom. The French New Nuclear Programme is also under development with 6 nuclear reactors to be built in France with 8 in option. News and information are at or follow EDF on LinkedIn About AtkinsRéalis' Nuclear Business AtkinsRéalis has over 70 years of global nuclear expertise, delivering nuclear technology products and full-service solutions to nuclear utilities around the world. AtkinsRéalis is the steward of CANDU® nuclear technology, operating on four continents, and provides advisory and engineering services to other nuclear developers. With an innovative technology portfolio, including access to over 500 patented solutions, AtkinsRéalis solves technically complex challenges across the whole nuclear lifecycle from design and new build through asset management and from life extension and late life management through decommissioning and waste management. AtkinsRéalis operates and manages government nuclear research sites, transforming ageing infrastructure and safely managing legacy nuclear waste. AtkinsRéalis' CANDU technology also allows for the co-production of medical radioisotopes for cancer detection and treatment. The company also supports cancer treatment through its partnership with TerraPower to extract isotopes from legacy nuclear material. Learn more on our Nuclear market page. Forward-Looking Statements References in this press release to the "Company", "AtkinsRéalis", "we", us" and "our" mean, as the context may require, AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. or all or some of its subsidiaries or joint arrangements or associates. Statements made in this press release that describe the Company's expectations or strategies constitute "forward-looking statements", which can be identified by the use of the conditional or forward-looking terminology such as "estimates", "expects", "forecasts", "intends", "may", "objective", "plans", "projects", "should", "will", "likely", or other variations thereon. Forward-looking statements also include any other statements that do not refer to historical facts. The Company cautions that, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and that its actual actions or results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are presented for the purpose of assisting investors and others in understanding certain key elements of the Company's current objectives, strategic priorities, expectations and plans, and in obtaining a better understanding of the Company's business and anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements made in this press release are based on a number of assumptions believed by the Company to be reasonable as at the date hereof. The assumptions are set out throughout the Company's 2024 annual management disclosure & analysis ("2024 MD&A") (particularly in the sections entitled "Critical Accounting Judgments and Key Sources of Estimation Uncertainty" and "How We Analyze and Report our Results") filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada, available on SEDAR+ at and on the Company's website at under the "Investors" section. If these assumptions are inaccurate, the Company's actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. In addition, important risk factors could cause the Company's assumptions and estimates to be inaccurate and actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements. Those risks are identified in the 2024 MD&A (particularly in the section entitled "Risk and Uncertainties"), as may be updated from time to time in the Company's interim quarterly MD&A, are not exhaustive. The forward-looking statements herein reflect the Company's expectations as at the date of this press release and are subject to change after this date. The Company does not undertake to update publicly or to revise any such forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable legislation or regulation. The forward-looking information and statements contained herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.


Calgary Herald
a day ago
- Calgary Herald
Parker: Jan Eden recognized as longstanding Calgary booster
Last week, to a packed room in the Calgary Petroleum Club, an event was hosted by a group of Calgarians who felt it was time to honour Jan Eden for her longstanding commitment in promoting this city. Article content For the past 28 years she has organized lunches and dinners for executives who have moved to Calgary, to make them and their spouses feel welcome and to introduce them to people she felt they would benefit from meeting. Article content Eden's idea grew from her experience after moving here with her lawyer husband from Toronto and hosting his clients at their Riverdale Avenue home. A neighbour asked her if she would have a dinner party for a businessman moving here from Toronto to introduce him to some Calgary people he might enjoy meeting. It was quite the success as he met his future wife in Eden's kitchen. Article content Article content Eden is still the 'Queen of Connections' and every year she organizes welcoming lunches or dinners for new Calgarians to meet others. She stresses she is not an event planner, but rather when she hears of an executive moving here, she does some research into appropriate introductions for that person. Over the years, many who have been invited remain as friends or have benefitted from a business relationship, as well as having a good experience eating at places like Centini, Teatro and Hy's, as well as The Eden Bistro in Inglewood, opened eight years ago by her son Robert and his wife Nadine. Article content Article content Her work bringing people together deserves recognition as she's a real Calgary booster and one of the city's best communicators. Besides her New Calgarian events, Eden also arranges 'Conversations That Matter' lunches for her clients. At one, she had Jessica Faulds tell her story on conquering MS to 60 people at a Centini lunch. Eden is helping Faulds, a client, write a book about her 18-year MS battle. Article content After her marriage broke up and she was left to look after three children with no support, Eden needed to look for work. The Four Seasons Hotel (now Marriott Calgary Downtown) was opening, and with no experience in the hospitality industry, she talked her way into becoming the sales director, receiving six promotions within the year. Article content Having met with many business executives over the years, Eden knew she could be a successful executive coach and help business people think and execute their plans differently. Boldly, she picked Ottawa executives as a target and sent 100 handwritten letters to CEOs there inviting them to breakfast, lunch or dinner, and 50 came. Asking questions about the advice they needed, Eden signed up 10 on year-long contracts; they told others about conversations with Eden and she had 10 more within three months.


Calgary Herald
3 days ago
- Calgary Herald
White: Downtown West End undergoing transformation to an urban village
The 'in' word in city building these days is 'transformation' or 'transformative.' You will see it being used when it comes to Arts Commons' expansion and renovation plans, and the Glenbow Museum's transformation into the JR Shaw Arts Centre. It has also been associated with the city of Calgary's 'office to residential' conversions, which hopefully will transform downtown Calgary into a more attractive place for Calgarians to live. Article content Perhaps the biggest transformation in Calgary these days is what is happening in Downtown West End, the blocks west of 6th Street to 14th Street S.W. and from the Bow River to 9th Avenue S.W. By my count, there are at least 10 major 'community enhancing' projects either under construction or in the works that have the potential to transform it into a vibrant urban village. Let's have a look. Article content Article content Article content Toggle full screen modePrevious Gallery Image Next Gallery ImageToggle gallery captions View All 4 Photos 1 of 4 Article content Article content The majority of Calgary's downtown office conversions are within a few blocks of downtown's 8th Avenue S.W. corridor that is an important pedestrian link for those living in the Beltline to walk into downtown and access the LRT station, Bow River and other downtown amenities. The city has plans to enhance this important pedestrian corridor from the Bow River to 17th Avenue. There are eight conversions to residential and one to a hotel, which will hopefully add 1,500 more people living in downtown's west end. Will this be enough to transform it into an urban village? Only time will tell. Article content Article content Contemporary Calgary has major expansion plans for its building (formerly the Centennial Planetarium) as well as plans to create an art park between the gallery and the 4th Avenue freeway. It might even include the relocation of the Family of Man sculpture. The 21-foot tall, thin dancing figures would be a great gateway to the gallery and art park next to the former planetarium building, which coincidentally was also a 1967 Centennial project. Article content Backstory: After Expo '67 was over, the piece was auctioned off and Calgary businessman Maxwell Cummings purchased it and gifted it to the city. The city decided to place the figures on the lawn in front of the now empty Calgary Board of Education Building as part of a failed 1960s downtown revitalization scheme. Ironically, the sculptures are part of the Calgary Board of Education's logo even though its head office is now in the Beltline.