FAQs

Recycling services in Grande Prairie are managed by Aquatera under Bylaw C-1365. Approximately 27,000 residential dwellings receive weekly recycling collection.

Aquatera specializes in collecting and disposing of waste generated by residents in Grande Prairie. This essential service is critical for maintaining community cleanliness, promoting public health, and ensuring effective waste management.

Curbside collection services are available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., including statutory holidays, except for December 25 and January 1.

City residents are charged $10.49 per month per household for recycling services. 

Aquatera manages a central Eco Centre, located on land owned by the City. Under the terms of current agreements, the City is obligated to provide this land for Aquatera's recycling operations.

The City of Grande Prairie does not receive any revenue from Aquatera recycling fees. These fees are paid directly by residents to Aquatera, a private company that handles recycling services.

Franchise fees are charged on water, wastewater, and solid waste portions, not on recycling fees.

The fee is for using City land, City costs, and the utility’s exclusivity. It replaces taxes and local improvement charges payable to the City.

Aquatera operates the Eco Centre, the largest residential recycling depot in Grande Prairie, which accepts a variety of recyclable materials such as blue bag recycling, electronics, batteries, and household hazardous waste. 

The following outlines accepted and unaccepted materials: 

Accepted Materials:

• Batteries
• Blue bag materials
• Bottle donations
• Electronics
• Fluorescent light bulbs
• Household hazardous waste
• Styrofoam

Unaccepted Materials:

• Glass
• Household appliances (accepted at our landfill for recycling)
• Landfill refuse
• Aquatera Accepted and Non-Accepted Materials

The City is the main shareholder. Shareholders invested infrastructure into Aquatera in 2004, receiving preferred shares that earn a 5% annual dividend. Details are in Aquatera’s annual reports.

Dividends go into the general operating fund.

• Responsibility:
  1. Current State: Consumers and waste management companies handle waste.
  2. EPR: Producers are responsible for the end-of-life disposal of their products.

• Scope:
  1. Current State: Focuses on traditional recyclables.
  2. EPR: Includes a wider range of products and packaging, pushing producers to design with end-of-life in mind.

• Financial Responsibility:
  1. Current State: Residents pay the costs.
  2. EPR: Producers pay for managing the entire lifecycle of their products and packaging.

• Regulatory Framework:
  1. Current State: General waste management rules.
  2. EPR: Specific laws and regulations for producers to comply with.

• Environmental Impact:
  1. Current State: Diverts materials from landfills but doesn’t fully address product lifecycle impact.
  2. EPR: Reduces impact by promoting recyclable product designs, reuse, and sustainable practices.

The EPR Regulation ensures that communities will continue to receive the same type of recycling service (curbside or depot) they had as of November 30, 2022. 

For example, communities with curbside recycling will retain those services, and those with depot services will continue to have at least depot collection. Curbside collection is mandated to occur at least bi-weekly, but producers can schedule more frequent pickups if needed.

No. Recycling is part of your utility bill, not your taxes. EPR shifts recycling costs to producers.

No, it does not include commercial recycling.

No, EPR does not include existing stewardship programs such as oil, tires, paint or electronic recycling.

Phase l will begin April 1, 2025 to all registered communities.

• Nova Scotia (Dec 2025)
• New Brunswick (2023)
• Quebec
• Ontario (2023, phased)
• Manitoba (partially funded, 2010)
• Saskatchewan (partially funded, 2016)
• BC (2014)
• Yukon (Oct 2025)

Over the next several weeks, we will:

• Educate residents about current residential recycling.
• Explain (EPR) Extended Producer Responsibility.
• Inform about possible recycling service changes.
• Engage with residents through various mediums.
• Most of the education will be via easy-to-understand social media content to gather valuable feedback from residents.