Recycling

The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) initiative shifts the cost of recycling materials away from municipalities and utility rate payers to the producers and manufacturers who supply those products into the marketplace. The City is recovering the maximum amount of costs possible through EPR and stewardship programs to decrease rates for residents. Some items are not fully covered through these programs and still require a small fee to continue with the same service and service levels.
All residents who receive recycling collection from the City, will continue to see a decrease in their recycling flat rate in 2026. The fee in 2026 is $0.31 compared to $1.40 in 2025 and $6.54 in 2024. See current rates: https://stalbert.ca/home/utilities/accounts/rates/

The City of St. Albert provides the Recycling Program to all single-family households and some multi-family homes and condo complexes. Recyclable items must be clean and dry, and placed in Blue Recycling Bags. Cardboard must be flattened and not be greater than 1.0m x 0.6m in size. Flattened cardboard exceeding this size may be torn and placed in Blue Bags, or brought to the Mike Mitchell Recycling Depot. Residents can place an unlimited number of Blue Recycling Bags and flattened carboard out for collection on their household's waste collection day.

Cart Collection

The Residential Solid Waste Management Bylaw (6/2025) describes the rules and regulations which must be followed for waste collection.

Learn more by viewing the Cart collection rules

Failure to follow these regulations will result in:
Blue bags being tagged with an explanation of what requirement is not being met.
No blue bag collection.

Did you receive an Oops! sticker on your recycling?

We can provide feedback to help you re-sort your bag if you send a photo of your recycling to wastewise@stalbert.ca

What Goes in the Blue Recycling Bag?

Download the "What Goes Where?" Quick Sorting Guide or search for specific items using the tool below.

Curbside Collection Guidelines

Changes for Blue Recycling Bag

As of April 1, 2025, the City’s Blue Bag program is now accepting new items with the introduction of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulation. The list of new materials accepted includes plastic clamshell containers such as fruit, salad, or takeout containers and non-beverage “Tetra Pak” cartons such as soup/broth and liquid egg cartons.

EPR shifts the cost of recycling materials like single-use products, packaging, and paper products (PPP), and hazardous and special products (HSP) away from municipalities and utility ratepayers to the producers and manufacturers who supply those products into the marketplace. For more information about EPR you can visit the Provincial Government's site for Extendnded Producer Responsibility

oops orange sticker Unfortunately, if an item cannot be made into a new product, it cannot be collected for recycling. Even with the introduction of EPR, some materials continue to be not accepted in the blue bags, such as plastic bags, wrappers, plastic toys, and food residue or liquids. Unacceptable materials, including food residue and liquids, compromised the clean recycling.

Please ensure that all recycling items are placed inside a see-through blue bag. Contents of blue bag should be clearly visible for collection. Opaque bags may be rejected due to contamination and safety concerns.

Residents are encouraged to learn more about how to reduce waste by using reusable items such as coffee mugs, utensils and grocery bags instead of single-use items. Glass jars can also be reused for crafts and home storage.

Frequency of Collection

Blue Recycling Bags are collected every week throughout the year on your household's designated waste collection day.

For specific details, please refer to the Collection Schedule

Acceptable vs. Unacceptable List

Acceptable	Unacceptable
Boxboard	Plastic bags, wrappers & wrap
Books (with hard and softcovers removed)	Styrofoam blocks, cups, packing peanuts & trays
Bottle deposit containers (not including glass)	Non-packaging plastic (e.g. laundry baskets, lawn chairs & toys)
Corrugated cardboard	Glass bottles, jars and containers (Accepted at the Recycling Depot)
Flattened milk jugs	Electronics and hazardous waste
Food cans & tins	Shredded paper, napkins, tissues, paper towels & tissues paper (Accepted in the Green Organics Cart)
Hard plastic tubs, bottles, lids & containers (e.g. shampoo, ketchup, sour cream, etc.)	Chip cans & spiral wound containers
Magazines & phone books	Plastic dishware, ceramics & glassware
Newspapers & flyers	Coffee pods & drink pouches
Office paper, envelopes, craft paper	Single-use plastic straws & utensils
Paper egg cartons	Scrap metal and construction & demolition materials
Paper greeting cards and gift wrap (no tissue paper, foil, glitter or decorations)
Non-deposit Tetra Pak containers (e.g. soup containers, alternative milk cartons)
Plastic clamshell packaging (e.g. berry containers, sandwich trays, fruit/vegetable trays)
Single-use cups (e.g. yogurt, pudding & sauces) and to-go cups (from coffee, fountain drinks & smoothies)