The Town of Hinton will receive free recycling services at the Rowan Street Recycling Depot as of April 1 through the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program.
On Tuesday (March 11), Hinton council discussed the program and what services the Town would still have to pay for itself.
“The good news for residents in Hinton is regardless of what council choses tonight, it’s going to be a significant savings to our budget, and they can look forward to curbside recycling starting in October of 2026,” said Trent McLaughlin, director of development and infrastructure.
EPR shifts the responsibility of dealing with recycling waste to the producer and away from local governments and taxpayers. The cost of dealing with recycling will ultimately be recouped through the cost of a product rather than property taxes or utility rates.
The recycling service at the Rowan Street depot will be managed by a Producer Responsibility Organization directly with the contractor, Edson and District Recycling Society.
Through the EPR program, the Town will also receive residential curbside recycling collection services in October 2026.
Coun. Albert Ostashek asked how administration was letting the public know about this transition and noted many residents were uncertain about what curbside pickup would look like.
McLaughlin replied that all they knew at this time was the new curbside services would start in October 2026 and be biweekly.
“We will get those notices out following what’s decided here because, obviously, we want to be able to tell people where and what they can recycle, which is a big part of it,” he said.
While the program will save the Town roughly $300,000 per year, it does not cover all current services offered in Hinton. Administration estimated it would cost $110,000 annually to maintain the level of service.
Residential services that have historically been offered at the local depot but are not included under the program include the collection and disposal of compost, aerosol containers, batteries and electronics.
The Town would need to budget $17,000 annually to keep these services.
Although the West Yellowhead Regional Landfill is able to collect these products, administration noted it was convenient for residents to have an in-town option.
Commercial cardboard recycling also won’t be covered. Hinton businesses currently pay for their own bins, pickup and hauling to Edson, while the Town covers the recycling tipping fees.
With $40,000 in tipping fees and $13,000 in labour for school pickups, it would cost $53,000 per year for the Town to keep offering this service.
Finally, the Town would have to pay $40,000 per year to maintain its hazardous waste disposal program. It currently offers two toxic round-up collections per year, and the depot accepts toxic and hazardous materials year-round.
“These efforts are over and above the requirement set out by the province, whereby a community of less than 10,000 must host a minimum of one collection event per calendar year, with no requirements for a permanent depot accepting hazardous materials year-round,” administration stated.
“Additionally, the EPR program has strict guidelines regarding the hazardous waste materials that can be accepted, and provincial responsibilities for collection and disposal,” it added.
Coun. Ryan Maguhn advocated for maintaining the existing level of service.
“The problem I have right now is that there’s too many unknowns,” Maguhn said. “Regarding commercial cardboard recycling, I don’t know what the impact to any one of our businesses in town would be if we were to suddenly put that tipping fee on them.”
Maguhn added that cutting back on residential services could result in illegal dumping, and reducing hazardous waste disposal services could lead to people improperly disposing of this waste in regular garbage bins.
Coun. Stuart Taylor had no problem continuing residential and hazardous waste services but wanted more information about the cost of commercial cardboard recycling.
Administration will return to council at a future meeting with a decision to continue maintaining the current level of service.
