Other provinces across Canada have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, a form of EPR regulations which include British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Québec. The Atlantic provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador initiated studies on developing a regulated EPR system in 2014, but no formal decisions have been made yet. Below are brief descriptions of what provinces around Canada are doing.

Do you want to learn more about EPR? Several news media outlets have reported on the recycling challenges in Alberta and how EPR is one of the solutions.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy approach in which the producer of a product is responsible for that product through the post-consumer stage of its life cycle. EPR shifts the responsibility and costs of recycling from local governments to producers. This incentivizes producers to reduce waste associated with their products and packaging, and to create products that are readily reusable or recyclable.

Alberta Waste and Recycling legislation

• Alberta’s recycling regulatory framework amendments
• Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA)

Government of Alberta

• Recycling - Information on what and how to recycle

Landfills

Landfills in Alberta

Landfilling is the most common method to dispose of waste in Alberta. Even though significant efforts are made to reduce, reuse, and recycle as much of the waste we produce there is still a need for disposal facilities.