Aquatera customers in Grande Prairie could see an up to 30 per cent reduction in their recycling fees sooner than later.
During their most recent Monday night meeting, Grande Prairie City Council chose to opt-in to the provincial Extended Producer Responsibility recycling program.
Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton explains that right now, customers in the city have their waste and recycling picked up by a contractor through Aquatera. The change, however, will place the responsibility for collecting waste and recycling onto producers rather than municipalities.
“This will start relatively quickly,” she says. “Other provinces across the country already have this in place.”
Despite the change, Mayor Clayton maintains that services will remain largely the same for residents, but under the new model, glass recycling could be expected depending on the arrangement between the province and the facilitator.
“Really what this will mean is status quo service, potentially with a cost reduction on your bill, potentially about 30 percent but there will be a cost reduction on your recycling portion, [and] glass may be accepted,” she says.
As a result of the change, city administration has been tasked with negotiating a new contract with Aquatera to continue service in the city.
