Operations have proven to be successful at Lethbridge's MRF (Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet

Operations at Lethbridge’s MRF going well, says Waste and Recycling Centre manager

Dec 30, 2019 | 11:14 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Since starting up back in May, the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Lethbridge has been a success.

That’s according to City of Lethbridge Waste and Recycling Centre manager Steve Rozee.

“We have an excellent facility and really good contract partners and we’re able to produce really high-quality sort-it recyclables and we have not had any trouble marketing those,” Rozee told LNN.

At the MRF, recycled materials are sorted, then baled and sold to other companies that use items to make new products.

READ MORE: Material Recovery Facility fully operational ahead of curbside recycling beginning this week

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

“At this point, all of our recyclables have gone in North America, including the plastics so nothing has gone overseas,” Rozee commented.

“We have a contractor that markets for us. They market probably 25 percent of the recyclables in North America. They’re very large in this business so they have access to a lot of processing facilities, so we don’t limit ourselves from one or the other.”

He said they’ve sometimes seen build-up of materials, when a recycling plant’s machines breaks down, but there has yet to be an overwhelming amount of pile-up since the MRF began operating in May.

Rozee added that staff at the site is focused on knowing what’s happening to the recyclables throughout the process.

“From month to month, they [the private contractor] will find the best facility for our material, for the best rate for the City of Lethbridge and they will also look very carefully that we’re getting a facility that provides really good environmental outcomes as well, so we’re very focused on knowing what’s happening to the recyclables and knowing that it’s going to a recycling plant and not being rebroke or possibly further away from out of our control,” he said.

As for the potential construction of a recycling facility for mixed recyclables in southern Alberta, Rozee said he believes there’s a company looking at a plant specifically for that but could not confirm.

What he could say is that crews at the MRF put a lot of effort on the quality of what they produce.

“We work closely with our marketing partner and the downstream processors to make sure we’re producing products that they want,” Rozee said.

“So far, we’ve had no issues moving materials, so we’ve been very happy with achieving the outcome of the MRF, which is to actually see residents of Lethbridge’s recyclables…recycled!”