Recycle Round Up Coming to Vegreville

Recycle Round Up Coming to Vegreville

Michelle Pinon News Advertiser

The Town of Vegreville and the Alberta Recycling Management Authority, (ARMA), have teamed up to once again bring the Recycle Round Up to Vegreville.

This year’s event will be held on June 13 from 11 am to 3 pm at the Central Drop Recycling Centre at 4822-51 Avenue.

Kaleb Brink, Communications Coordinator for the Town of Vegreville, said this will be the 11th year the municipality has hosted the annual Recycle Round Up. Brink said the town first heard about the initiative during a Recycling Council of Alberta Conference.

Brink said the town decided to participate was because “We saw a need to control the amount of household waste being disposed into the landfill.”

Since then residents have embraced the event. According to Brink, “Approximately 26,000 lbs. of recyclables ranging from electronic waste, paint, household hazardous wastes, tires, batteries, (single- use, rechargeable, and automotive) cell phones, inks/toners, fluorescent bulbs, propane tanks, metals, and glass have been collected.”

On average, 200 people participate in the one-day Recycle Round Up. “It is held at the Central Drop as can bring other recyclables in the bins provided there for other items like cardboard, newsprint, white office paper, solid and film plastics, tin and glass,” noted Brink.

Ed Gugenheimer, CEO of ARMA stated, “ARMA is proud to have partnered with the Town of Vegreville since 1994 and they have grown alongside us to participate in all of the programs we manage. I encourage all residents and businesses to attend their June 13 roundup and we look forward to hearing the results of this event.”

He went on to say, “The Town of Vegreville is a long-standing partner in ARMA’s recycling programs, having first registered their tire collection area with the organization back in 1994 and since then have added electronics, paint and used oil materials areas for recycling. Funding is also provided for the majority of these programs to help Vegreville manage the materials.”

According to Gugenheimer, “Vegreville has participated in the Roundup Program since 2010 and residents can be proud of the fact that their hard-working efforts in waste diversion, both through the roundup program and their daily recycling efforts at the year-round collection sites, have helped the province reach the incredible recycling milestones of 124 million tires, 25 million litres of paint and 1.8 billion litres of used oil.”

Gugenheimer said that since 2008 ARMA has recognized municipalities that display an outstanding commitment to providing their residents with collection sites where they can safely and conveniently recycle end-of-life tires, electronics, paint, and used oil materials. In 2019, the Vegreville Sanitary Landfill was selected as a Collection Site of Excellence, in particular recognizing the staff of the Vegreville Materials Recovery Facility who make their site a place of excellence every day. ARMA is launching a two-year electronics expansion pilot project. “This project, which will enable Albertans to recycle items such as small home appliances, audio, and video equipment, and cell phones has the potential to add $30 million annually into Alberta’s economy and support job creation through an additional 360 full-time jobs.”