At their meeting earlier this week, Airdrie City Council heard a report from Susan Grimm of Airdrie Waste and Recycling asking them to throw their support behind a resolution by the City of Calgary into the issue of Extended Producer Responsibility legislation.

Following Grimm's report, council voted to support Calgary's resolution that will be brought forth at the upcoming Municipal Leader's Caucus, March 14th and 15th in Edmonton.

You're likely asking yourself, 'what exactly is Extended Producer Responsibility.'  Good question.  Airdrie Waste and Recycling's  Program Coordinator Tracy Pagenhardt explains.

"The EPR is a policy and program approach that shifts operational responsibility and cost of managing specific wastes from the municipal tax base to brand owners, manufacturers, and retailers." 

Essentially, EPR is designed to make those groups pay for the cost of certain recycling programs.i

Pagenhardt tells us that the program was started in 2009, but two provinces haven't gotten on board.  One of them is Alberta. 

"In 2009," Pagenhardt says,  "all of Canada's provinces made a commitment through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment to work toward the development of EPR framework legislation and regulations.  Since then every province, with the exception of Alberta and the Territories have developed and implemented an EPR legislation for various materials."

With the resolution, the City of Calgary hopes to get the legislation started in Alberta.  Pagenhardt says one of the things the legislation may lead to is a cost saving for municipalities.

"There is a potential, yes.  What it does is shift the responsibility in terms of the costs of the actual programs themselves.  It shifts it to the producer as opposed to the municipalities.  Depending on what model they go with it could also save the organization an actual operational cost of the program as well.

Pagenhardt couldn't say how much potentially Airdrie could see in cost saving but she believes the resolution is a step in the right direction.

"It's not something that would take effect immediately by any means.  Primarily it's just supporting the City of Calgary in their endeavour to bring forward the resolution at the provincial government level." 

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