Updated May 2024

CURBSIDE COLLECTION: Blue bins have arrived!

ORGANICS, RECYCLING AND WASTE User's Guide (updated November 2023)

Since the residential curbside collection recycling program was introduced in May 2022, the Town of Rocky Mountain House has heard many requests for blue bins to help residents manage their mixed recycling materials. Blue bins will also speed up curbside collection and reduce windblown materials.

Residents who pay garbage and recycling utilities directly to the Town can expect to receive their bins this month. There will be no change to your monthly billing.

 Thank you for your patience as Town staff assemble and deliver the bins in the coming weeks!  A limited supply of small bins will be delivered first to households that requested the 240L size earlier this year. All other residents will receive a 360L bin. 

You may start using your blue bin as soon as you receive it. Once your household receives your blue bin, you will no longer need to provide clear or blue bags for your mixed recycling. 

Please place your clean recyclables loosely in the bin.  Do not bag your items. All curbside recyclable material must fit inside your bin at the curb. Once all households have their blue bins, the collection truck will no longer collect bags or oversized cardboard at the curb.

Mixed recycling is collected every-other-week on Wednesdays and Thursdays, on alternating weeks form your garbage pick-up days.

ORGANICS, RECYCLING AND WASTE User's Guide (updated November 2023)

Questions? We've got answers!

Q: HOW MUCH WILL THIS COST?

This service is included in residential solid waste and diversion fees already reflected on your monthly utility bill. Your monthly utility payment will not change due to this program. The cost breakdown for curbside recycling is about $2 per month.

Q: WHEN WILL MY RECYCLING BE PICKED UP?

Curbside recycling is collected every-other-week alternating with your garbage collection. Set your recycling out by 7 a.m. on your assigned day. Leave 1.5 metres of space between your blue bin and parked vehicles.  

Download a 2024 calendar (PDF)

Q: WHERE WILL MY RECYCLING END UP?

Curbside recycling collected in Rocky Mountain House goes to the Cascades Recovery facility in Calgary. This large-scale recycling facility also handles residential recycling from the City of Calgary.

Q: OK, I'M IN! WHAT CAN I PUT IN MY CURBSIDE RECYCLING BAG?

ORGANICS, RECYCLING AND WASTE User's Guide (updated November 2023)

• Rigid Plastics NUMBERED 1-7 (e.g.: Shampoo bottles, detergent jugs and food containers). When in doubt, check for the numbered recycling symbol! It will look like this:                
  
  
• 
  
• The number in the middle must be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 to go in your curbside bag. Please rinse your containers first!
• 
  
• 
  

• Metal cans and foil trays (e.g.: Food, soup and beverage cans, tin foil wrap, foil trays and pie plates).
• Paper, cardboard and boxboard (e.g.: flattened corrugated cardboard; cereal, cracker, cookie and tissue boxes - liners removed - cardboard and paper tubes/rolls; and paper egg cartons.
• Beverage containers (these can also go to the Bottle Depot).
  
  Rinse all items and place them loosely in your BLUE bin.
  
  Large cardboard and boxes must be folded or flattened and placed in your bin. Once all households have their blue bins, the collection truck will no longer collect bags or oversized cardboard at the curb.

Q: DO I HAVE TO USE A BAG?

No! Please do not bag your items before placing them in your blue bin. The materials are easier to sort at their final destination if they are placed loosely in your bin.

Q: WHAT ABOUT GLASS, BATTERIES OR OTHER RECYCLABLES?

Please continue to take these items to the Eco Centre:

• Tires
• Glass
• Electronics
• Scrap metals
• Wood and rocks/stones
• Yard waste (that does not fit in your green bin)
• Household hazardous materials

These items will NOT be collected curbside.

Q: HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO GET RID OF EXTRA GARBAGE? 

Fees for garbage disposal at the Eco Centre came into effect on July 1, 2022.

There have always been disposal fees for certain items, including mattresses and fridges. These fees simply cover the cost of transporting the mattresses to a recycling facility in Calgary, or to safely remove the freon from your fridge or freezer.

If a household produces more garbage than it can dispose of in the curbside black bin, they can take it to the Eco Centre. Fees for waste are as follows:

Loads larger than a half-ton box-size must go to the Regional Landfill for disposal.

Recycling/Chemicals/Paints/Oils/Yard Waste/Grass Clippings/Metal/Batteries, etc. will all remain free.

Residents are encouraged to embrace all the waste diversion programs in place, including curbside organics and recycling, and bring additional recyclable materials to the Eco Centre free of charge. The monthly base rate for these services is $27.52 and is already included on your monthly municipal utility bill.

The Town hosts Kick It to the Curb events twice a year, generally in June and September. This is a way for residents to swap or upcycle their used but useable items. Check out the details here.

NOTICE: CHANGE TO HOURS OF
OPERATIONS EFFECTIVE NOV. 1:    

Tuesday to Saturday

10 a.m to 6 p.m.

Q: WHAT IS KICK IT TO THE CURB?

Kick it to the Curb is a Town-wide event to help Rocky residents reduce and reuse. Place your unwanted but usable items at the front of your property marked with a ‘FREE’ sign. Then explore curbsides around Town to find new-to-you treasures that are marked with a ‘FREE’ sign. 

Q: WILL THE RE-USE SHED EVER REOPEN?

No, this service has been discontinued.

Residents are encouraged to consider other ways to divert or re-use their unwanted items, such as:

• Donating directly to a non-profit;
• Participating in Kick it to the Curb;
• Breaking down items into their recyclable material parts;
• Advertising items for sale; and
• Learning about the Circular Economy and the role household consumers can play in overall waste reduction.

Q: WHO CAN I CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION?

Phone the Town Office at 403-845-2866 and your call will be forwarded to the right person.

ORGANICS, RECYCLING AND WASTE User's Guide (updated November 2023)

The Town of Rocky Mountain House is a member of the Recycling Council of Alberta.