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Recycling right in the RMWB starts with knowing what goes where. Maximize recycling efforts and dispose of items properly using your black bin, light blue bin, or dark blue bin. Need help sorting an item? The Online Sorting Tool can point you in the right direction.
Black Bin
Bag it Right, Bin it Tight!
Not everything belongs in the garbage — check the online sorting tool to see where it should go.
Garbage needs to be bagged in your bin.
Yes please! ✅
No thanks! ❌
Light Blue Bin
Empty, Stack and Recycle
There’s more! Check the online tool to explore all recyclable items.
Recyclables must be loose.
Yes please! ✅
No thanks! ❌
Dark Blue Bin
Empty, Rinse and Recycle
There’s more! Check the online tool to explore all recyclable items.
Recyclables must be loose.
Yes please! ✅
No thanks! ❌
A new battery recycling program is now available in Fort McMurray, making it easier to safely recycle household batteries.
Collect batteries at home
Use your box to safely collect used household batteries.
Looking for help collecting batteries at home? Get a small free household battery box from:
• Jubilee Centre front desk (9909 Franklin Avenue)
• Public Drop-Off at the Municipal Landfill
Tape before you drop-off
Cover the terminals with non-conductive tape (such as hockey or electrical tape).
Drop them off
• Place batteries in one of the new collection boxes around Fort McMurray (see locations below)
⚠️ Damaged, swollen, or leaking batteries must be brought directly to the Public Drop-Off at the landfill for safe disposal.
Battery recycling options are also available in rural communities:
Fort Chipewyan, Janvier & Conklin – Automotive-style batteries (car and truck) are accepted locally.
Fort McKay, Anzac, Saprae Creek & Gregoire Lake Estates (GLE) – All batteries (household and automotive) must be taken to the Municipal Landfill for safe disposal and recycling.
Jubilee Centre (Main Floor)
9909 Franklin Ave, Fort McMurray, AB T9H 2K4
Public Drop-Off – Municipal Landfill
AB-63, Fort McMurray, AB T9H 4A5
Is the material I recycle actually being recycled?
Yes.
All recycling equipment and services in the RMWB are fully operational. Properly sorted and prepared recyclables are sent to producers to be recycled and reused.
⚠️ However, if recycling is contaminated with food, garbage, or non-recyclable items, it can’t be processed and may be sent to the landfill instead.
Yes — but not through curbside collection.
Glass bottles and containers can be reused, but must be dropped off at the landfill—free of charge.
⚠️ Do not put glass in your curbside bins, it can contaminate the entire load rendering materials unsuitable for recycling and create safety risks for workers who sort recycling by hand.
Do I need to clean my recyclables before they go in my bins?
Yes — but they don’t need to be spotless.
Give cans and containers a quick rinse to remove leftover food or liquid.
Labels can stay on.
For cardboard and paper, make sure there’s no food residue or greasy spots.
Flatten and break down boxes to save space.
Properly prepared recyclables are more likely to be reused. If bins are contaminated with food or garbage, it can prevent your recycling — and your neighbours’ — from being collected and recycled.
What happens to our recycling?
First, collection teams check recycling bins for contamination before they’re picked up. If a bin contains too many non-recyclable items, it may be left behind or tagged.
After pickup, your recycling is taken to the Material Recovery Facility (MRF), where it’s sorted by hand on conveyor belts. Contaminated or incorrect items are removed and sent to the landfill.
The clean, sorted recyclables are compacted into large bales and shipped to producers, who recycle the materials into new products. Thanks to Alberta’s new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program, producers are now responsible for processing recycling, helping ensure more materials are reused through the circular economy.
My curbside collection bin is damaged, how can I get it fixed?
Contact Pulse at 780-743-7000 or online at rmwb.ca/pulse and the collection teams will follow up directly with you to repair or replace your damaged bin.
Are there plans for a compost program?
The RMWB is exploring the possibility of a compost and organic waste program.
It’s identified as a future goal in the Solid Waste Services Master Plan and is something many residents have asked for. Planning work is ongoing as the Municipality looks at options that best meet the needs of the region.
What should I do with pet waste?
Pet waste should never go in your recycling bin it contaminates other materials in the curbside collections trucks and poses serious health and safety risks to the staff who sort recyclables by hand.
To dispose of pet waste properly, you have a few options:
Use a Green Cone composter at home.
Bag it and take it to the municipal landfill.
Double bag it and place it in your black bin.
Take part in the seasonal Pet Waste Drop-Off event when available.
The Province’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Regulation (AR 194/2022) shifted responsibility for residential recyclables to Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) across Alberta on April 2, 2025.
This means that municipalities are no longer the ones who decide how household recyclables are collected, processed, or paid for. Instead, the companies that make and sell packaging and paper products are now responsible for managing the recycling system.
This is a provincewide change, and every municipality in Alberta is going through the same transition.
What is RMWB’s role right now?
RMWB currently has a bridging contract with Circular Materials, allowing us to continue collecting and processing residential recyclables on their behalf until October 1, 2026. Circular Materials is a not-for-profit Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) that operates recycling systems on behalf of the companies that create packaging and paper products.
Why wasn’t the contract renewed?
Circular Materials has informed us that the bridging contract will not be renewed and that all future service providers will be selected through a competitive RFP process. This is the model being used across Alberta.
We have bid on all contracts that were aligned with our capabilities. There have been three contracts available for bidding to date. We did not bid on one contract because our existing infrastructure would not have supported a competitive submission.
We submitted a bid in May 2025 (RFP 2025-01) to operate the regional Receiving Facilities that collect, compact, and ship residential recyclables. On November 7, 2025, we were informed that our bid was not selected.
Why didn’t the RMWB Bid on the pickup and precondition PPP contract (RFP CMAB2025-02)?
After reviewing the RFP requirements with our internal team, it was determined that this contract fell outside the scope of services the RMWB is equipped to provide. The contract required a full sorting line, specialized preconditioning technology such as , Trommels, Disc Screens, Bag Breakers, Eddy Current Separators, Optical Sorters, Air Classifiers, Ballistic Separators, Robotic Sorting Systems, Class clean-up equipment, Plastic Identification Systems etc.
These capabilities are normally found in large, centralized Material Recovery Facilities in major urban centers, and are not part of our current infrastructure. Because the operational requirements could not be met, the RMWB did not submit a bid.
Because the first bid was unsuccessful, and given current market conditions, there is a possibility that RMWB may not be the successful proponent for future residential recycling collection contract.
How is RMWB preparing for the next opportunity?
We are actively preparing a competitive submission for the upcoming RFP CMAB2025-03, which covers curbside collection services for Packaging and Paper Products. The deadline is December 15, 2025, and we expect results before March 31, 2026.
What does this mean for employees?
Throughout this process, we remain committed to supporting our employees by working closely with staff and the union to explore solutions for any impacted employees.
EPR changes only affect household recycled material collection. All other solid waste services continue as usual, and are not impacted by EPR changes.
How does this impact services?
There is no impact to curbside collection, or services at the Landfill at this time.
Commercial recyclables will continue to be accepted at the municipal recycling facility.
Specialty recyclables such as electronics, paint, tires, and hazardous waste will continue to be handled at the Public drop-off and landfill.
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