Recycling Depot
Location:
15 East Lake Hill
Phone: (403) 948-0246
E-mail: environmental.services@airdrie.ca
Winter Hours
October 1 - April 30
Monday and Tuesday, Closed
Wednesday, 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Thursday - Sunday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Extended Summer Hours
May 1 - September 30
Monday and Tuesday, Closed
Wednesday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Statutory Holiday Hours
Call to confirm: (403) 948-0246
Accepted Items
- #1, 2 and 5 Plastic
- Plastic lids
- Plastic shopping bags
- Plastic milk jugs
- Cardboard milk cartons
- Cardboard and boxboard
- White office paper
- Coloured paper
- Newspaper
- Telus phone books
- Glass
- Metal
- Electronic waste
- Cell phones
- Vehicle batteries
- Lithium/Cadmium batteries
- Fluorescent light bulbs
- Egg cartons
- Aerosol cans
- Propane tanks
- Used clothing
- Book exchange
Click here to download a PDF of the detailed version.
Ever wonder what happens to your recyclables after they leave the depot?
- Your Newspaper is reborn as insulation
- Cardboard is made into box board (e.g., cereal boxes)
- White Office Paper becomes drywall paper
- Coloured Paper is made into roofing shingles or the middle part of corrugated boxes
- Glass is made into 'Glassand' right here in Airdrie. The Glassand has many uses including sandblasting, road paint and drainage
- Metal is melted and made into new metal products such as rebar
- Plastic is chipped, cleaned and melted into plastic lumber, plastic lawn furniture, and plastic storage containers.
- Milk Jugs are sent to Calgary where they are chipped and made ready to ship to make new plastic products such as plastic lumber
- Used Oil is recycled to make diesel fuel by an Airdrie company
- The various components of Vehicle Batteries are recycled separately. The lead is reused and the acid is used in fertilizer. The plastic cases are recycled where markets are available
- Antifreeze is cleaned and made into new antifreeze
- Oil Filters are crushed & the metal is recycled. Excess oil is collected and made into diesel fuel
- Propane Tanks are re-certified for reuse
Why do we take the materials that we do?
It would be nice if everything we throw out could be recycled, but it is not possible. Some materials do not have an established market, a process to deal with the material or it is too cost prohibitive for recycling. This makes collection, transportation or processing too expensive. Bringing your materials to the Recycling Depot is the first step of the recycling process.
Why do we separate materials?
The City of Airdrie Environmental Services Staff asks you to separate materials when you come to the depot. Here’s why:
- To keep costs reasonable. If you don’t sort the materials, the City of Airdrie would have to pay someone else to do this for us.
- Material markets demand it. Materials you drop off at the Recycling Depot are becoming feedstock for a manufacturing process and these processes cannot deal with unauthorized materials.
- Sorted materials are worth more money. The City of Airdrie always strives to make sure that we receive top dollar for our materials. It is part of our commitment to keeping cost reasonable. If the material is contaminated then the value may be downgraded or it may not be accepted at all. All the collecting would be for naught and the load would have to go to the landfill.
Depot staff must prepare items for sale and transportation by sorting out materials that don’t belong. When items are placed in wrong area depot staff wastes valuable time by sorting recyclable materials.