Alberta to tackle CRD stewardship

Work on the waste reduction initiative started late 2007 with the formation of a special taskforce. The strategy is the next step following a breakthrough agreement signed in late 2008 by the Alberta government, the Canadian Home Builders' Association - Alberta, and the Alberta Construction Association. The agreement sets out a timeline to create a provincial stewardship program that will deal with the problem.

Once implemented, a construction and demolition stewardship program would increase recycling of many building materials, including concrete, asphalt, wood and drywall, preventing them from clogging Alberta's landfills.

One outcome of the process to date is an online recycling directory to give CRD industry members options for reusing and recycling various materials. See www.whywasteit.ca.

The stewardship program is expected to be based on a deposit/refund system, where a builder files a waste diversion plan and pays a deposit in order to get the building permit. When the project is complete, the builder files a report on how much material was diverted, along with some type of proof, e.g. weigh scale tickets from CRD recyclers. Based on the proportion of material kept out of landfill, the original deposit for the project will be refunded proportionately.

Alberta Environment is holding consultation meetings in June 2009 to help work out the details. Many things will need to be decided, including the level of deposits, how much waste has to be diverted in order to get a refund, what the non-refunded deposits will be used for, etc.

The program is expected to be implemented in 2010.

(Source: May 2009 WasteWatch)

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