MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - The Mountain View Regional Waste Management Commission (MVRWMC) will be closing its eight unmanned recycling stations effective Aug. 1, say officials.
Located in municipalities across the district, the recycling stations included large bins that residents could use to drop off such things as paper, cardboard and cans.
A letter from the commission announcing the decision to close the recycling stations recently came before councils, including Mountain View County council on April 25.
Mountain View County deputy reeve Greg Harris is the commission’s chairman. He told the Albertan closing the stations is expected to save commission members about $130,000 in 2023 and approximately $410,000 in 2024.
The commission is made up of representatives from area municipalities, including Mountain View County, the towns of Olds, Sundre, Didsbury, Carstairs, and the Village of Cremona.
The commission recently asked its member councils to considering ending the recycling station service after officials said the market for many of the recycled items was no longer financially viable.
“The markets fluctuate tremendously,” said Harris. “The commodities have little or no value. The estimate is that less than one per cent of the clear glass that has been put in recycle bins has ever been recycling, and the majority of that was simply crushed and used as abrasive.”
Five of the six councils voted to close all the recycling stations, with one member voting to keep the stations at Didsbury, Sundre and Water Valley open.
On March 27, the commission’s board passed a resolution directing administration to initiate withdrawal of the regional recycling stations.
The commission has provided members notice of the intent to withdrawal management of the contract hauling from the stations effective August 1.
After August 1, the bins will be removed and the commission’s oversight role will end.
Each member municipality may elect to maintain the recycling station within their respective municipal boundary by providing notice to the commission prior to July 15, said commission chief administrative officer Michael Wuetherick.
“For clarity, the proposed changes to service level impact the commission’s role in managing the recycling stations only and has no bearing on recycling at the municipal level through the provision of curbside blue-cart programs that we currently operate,” Wuetherick said.
During the April 26 Mountain View County council meeting, councillors carried a motion authorizing administration to enter into the amended Mountain View Waste Commission and Mountain View County Waste Services Agreement.
The updated agreement includes the removal of several previous clauses in the original agreement, including that the “commission will oversee operations regarding waste recycling and waste diversion at each of the waste management facilities” and “the collection of recyclable from the unmanned recycling centres is the responsibility of the commission.”
The commission is requesting that each member administration present the revised agreement for approval before June 1.
The commission is planning a public awareness campaign “to make people understand what is being done and why it is being done,” said Harris.
Council carried a second motion saying the county will support the commission on its public awareness campaign.
