Curbside Recycling is on it’s way through our Condo community in Lethbridge.

The City of Lethbridge is committed to providing recycling services to both single family homes and apartment complexes. Work will begin to phase in apartment complexes after single family homes begin recycling in the spring of 2019. This will start with smaller complexes (less than 45 units).
After the phase 2 implementation, an evaluation of the apartment complex program will be completed and any required modifications made.

Larger condominium or apartment buildings with more than 45 units will be brought on in Phase 3 of the program, scheduled for the Fall of 2020. No recycling program fees will be charged to residents until the program is implemented at their complex.

COF fully supports the addition of additional recycling services in the city and applauds the environmental stewardship of the program itself, however; COF Members in Lethbridge have also advocated for a fair and equitable cost to Condo Owners, as compared with single family homes.

Unless your Condominium Units each have their own blue recycle bin, the $7.00 per unit per month has been seen as unfair because the current cost to empty a single dumpster once every two weeks is far less (depending on how many units you have in your complex and your garbage removal provider) than the $7.00 per unit per month that your condominium will be charged once Phase 3 is implemented in the fall of 2020. Do the math, if you have 100 units in your complex that would be a charge of $700 per month that now would be added to your utility bill per month. Does the city have to empty 100 bins, no, they will be only be picking up 1 dumpster. I am sure that your current provider is not charging you $700 per month. That’s where the inequity falls.

The city has committed to bringing information back to our group and holding a focus group meeting after they have some time to collect actual cost data on the program for Condominiums with under 45 units. They have not said ‘no’ to looking at a more equitable costing based on actual pickup and operational costs for larger complexes.

We would be interested in hearing from you on these concerns weather you are a larger Condominium to be covered under Phase 3 or whether your Condominium of under 45 units have had additional costs, or have had difficulties finding space for an additional dumpster on their property. Please email us at condorecyclethbridge@cofsab.ca with your concerns and stories. We’ll compile our own data to use in our conversation with the city next year.

Stayed tuned for more information as we get it.