Chestermere residents clearing old tires from garages and yards will have to arrange another destination after the city's Eco Centre lost its tire collection service.
In a Sept. 25 notice, the City of Chestermere said the company responsible for collecting and recycling tires had stopped serving the area. Tire acceptance ended immediately.
Residents should not bring tires to the facility or leave them on the property, according to the city's notice.
Its notice does not identify the service provider or give a date for tire collection to resume. It also does not explain why the provider stopped serving the area.
For now, the city's suggested starting point is a local tire shop. Residents should call before travelling to confirm whether a business accepts unwanted tires and whether it charges for the service. The notice does not name any businesses with availability.
There is also conflicting information on the city's recycling webpage. A notice says tires are no longer accepted, while a general list farther down still includes tires and rims. Residents should follow the specific tire-service notice. City recycling webpage
Across Alberta, tire recycling uses a network that includes retailers and municipal collection sites. The Alberta Recycling Management Authority says registered processors collect scrap tires from tire shops, vehicle dealerships, automotive repair businesses and recycling depots.
That provincial network provides context for the city's referral to retailers, but does not confirm that every shop will accept a resident's tires. ARMA recycling information
The authority's 2023–24 tire recycling report describes several uses for recovered material. Tires can become rubber mulch for landscaping, crumb rubber for manufactured products, or tire-derived aggregate used in civil engineering projects.
The same report recorded 149.5 million scrap tires recycled since Alberta's program began in 1992. That figure covers the provincial program through the reporting period, rather than tire recycling in Chestermere alone.
Meanwhile, a change will expand the packaging residents can recycle locally beginning Oct. 1.
The city says household aerosol containers, glass containers, foam packaging, flexible plastic packaging, and laminated paper and plastic packaging will be accepted in blue carts or at the Eco Centre.
Examples include bread bags, foam takeout containers and snack bags. Residents are instructed to empty packaging, bundle plastic bags and remove absorbent pads and film wrap from foam meat trays. City packaging announcement
Those additions do not restore tire service. Anyone arranging a tire drop-off should confirm acceptance and any charges with the receiving business before loading a vehicle.