Alberta residents will no longer pay for curbside recycling collection due to changes set to take effect April 1, 2025. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

No more curbside recycling fees in Lethbridge, facility to be fully paid off

Mar 14, 2025 | 1:36 PM

Residents of Alberta will see their bills go down a bit starting on April 1, 2025.

The Government of Alberta’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program takes effect next month, which puts the cost of recycling items like printed paper, packaging, foods, beverages, household items and more on the producers of those goods.

The EPR program will be pushed out to every residential recycling program in Alberta.

For the City of Lethbridge, it says residents will no longer have to pay for curbside recycling collection, decreasing utility bills by $7 to $9 per month, depending on the type of recycling collection they have.

Apartments and condos, which are currently exempt from Lethbridge’s recycling collection program, will be included in the EPR as of October 2026.

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Paying Off Debt

Circular Materials, Alberta’s only producer responsibility organization, has been appointed by the province to deliver the EPR.

In order to have Circular Materials take over this work, the City of Lethbridge needs to pay off the remaining $7,588,244 debt on its Material Recovery Facility.

The municipality says it will do this by using funds that were previously set aside for the Waste & Environment Department’s future Asset Lifecycle Funding, meaning residents will not see any increase in their utility rates.

Mayor Blaine Hyggen says paying off that debt will be great for the community in the long run.

“The decision we made today allows Administration to negotiate the best deal for Lethbridge in an effective and nimble way. It also saves more than $1.4 million in interest we would have paid out over the life of the loan,” says Hyggen.

The mayor adds that he wants to make sure residents enjoy the same reliable services they have now, and that this decision allows them to do that.

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