Recycling Issues Explored

September 10, 2007 Recycling Issues Explored

Edmonton... Having received over 100 written submissions on the Beverage Container Recycling Regulation, the Legislative Assembly’s all-party Standing Committee on Resources and Environment has scheduled public hearings in both Edmonton and Calgary.

“Recycling is an issue that affects all Albertans,” said Denis Ducharme, MLA for Bonnyville-Cold Lake and Chair of the Standing Committee on Resources and Environment. “People have a lot to say about the issues, and we want to hear about it.”

The public hearing in Edmonton is scheduled to take place at the Legislature Annex (4th Floor, 9718 - 107 Street) on September 18 beginning at 9:30 a.m. In Calgary the hearing is scheduled to take place at the Carriage House Inn (9030 MacLeod Trail South) on September 20 beginning at 1 p.m.

People are asked to contact the Committee Clerk before the end of the day on September 12 if they wish to make a presentation. The length of the hearings will be determined by the number of scheduled presentations.

The Standing Committee on Resources and Environment is one of four all-party committees established by the Assembly this spring. Among other responsibilities this 11-Member committee is holding public hearings into issues surrounding the Beverage Container Recycling Regulation.

These issues include

Beverage Container Collection System Is the number of existing bottle depots in Alberta sufficient? Should additional collection options be considered?

Exemption of Milk Containers Should milk containers be included in the deposit refund system?

Deposit Levels Should the existing deposit levels be raised? Should there be only one deposit level for all containers? Should large or oversize containers (i.e. 15-litre water bottles) have a much higher deposit level?

Unredeemed Deposits Should management of these unredeemed deposits be transferred from the manufacturer to the Delegated Administrative Organization (currently the Beverage Container Management Board), or should manufacturers continue to manage these funds? Should the regulation stipulate how these deposits may be used?

Service Quality What direction should be given to the Delegated Administrative Organization respecting the administration of standards included in the bylaws? Should there be a specific enforcement clause to deal with service quality?

Two Common Collection Agents Should the number of common collection agents required be a business decision handled in the bylaws and not prescribed in the regulation?

Other issues that may arise.

Information about the committee and can be found at www.assembly.ab.ca/resourcesandenvironment A list of the scheduled presentations will be posted on the committee website by September 17, 2007. -30-

Backgrounder Attached

Contact:

Denis Ducharme, MLA for Bonnyville-Cold Lake Chair of the Standing Committee on Resources and Environment

Legislature Office 723 Legislature Annex 9718 107 Street Edmonton, AB Canada T5K 1E4 Phone: (780) 415-0995 Fax: (780) 422-1671

Jody Rempel, Committee Clerk, Standing Committee on Resources and Environment Legislative Assembly of Alberta Phone: (780) 644-8621 Standing Committee on Resources and Environment

Mandate: Relates to the areas of energy, the environment, agriculture, sustainable resources, and forestry. Committee Membership: Mr. Denis Ducharme, MLA for Bonnyville-Cold Lake (Chair) Dr. David Swann, MLA for Calgary-Mountain View (Deputy Chair) Ms. Pearl Calahasen, MLA for Lesser Slave Lake Mr. David Eggen, MLA for Edmonton-Calder Mr. Gordon Graydon, MLA for Grande Prairie-Wapiti Mr. Doug Griffiths, MLA for Battle River-Wainwright Mr. Paul Hinman, MLA for Cardston-Taber-Warner Mr. Ty Lund, MLA for Rocky Mountain House Mr. Rick Miller, MLA for Edmonton-Rutherford Mr. Len Mitzel, MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat Mr. Frank Oberle, MLA for Peace River Alberta Government | Ministries Listing | Legislative Assembly of Alberta Home Page | News Releases | Top of Page |

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