Innisfail households will be able to recycle more items than ever before starting October 1, 2026, as the town joins Phase 2 of Alberta’s Enhanced Recycling Program. Glass containers, foam packaging, flexible plastic packaging, empty aerosol containers, and laminated paper and plastic packaging will all be accepted in the curbside and depot recycling programs.
The Town of Innisfail currently accepts plastics #1 through #7 in its blue cart, but glass has been excluded due to over-supply in world markets. That will change this fall. According to the Town of Innisfail, “Changes are coming to your recycling starting October 1, 2026. More materials will be accepted in the curbside and depot recycling programs across the province.”
The expansion is part of Alberta’s Extended Producer Responsibility program, which shifts the cost of recycling from municipalities and taxpayers to the producers of packaging and paper products. Circular Materials, a national not-for-profit organization, manages the program. Under the new system, producers fully fund recycling, meaning no additional costs will be charged to residents for the enhanced services.
Phase 1 of the program launched April 1, 2025, for communities with existing recycling services. Phase 2, starting October 1, 2026, expands the program to more communities and adds the new materials province-wide. The goal is to standardize recycling across Alberta, so residents can recycle the same items no matter where they live.
“Albertans will be able to recycle even more materials than ever before and recycle the same materials no matter where they live across the province,” Circular Materials states. The transition is overseen by the Alberta Recycling Management Authority, which was designated under provincial EPR regulations introduced in November 2022.
For Innisfail residents, the change means more packaging can be diverted from landfill and placed in the blue cart. Glass bottles and jars, previously not accepted, will now have a place in the recycling stream. The town encourages residents to check the updated materials list before their first post-October 1 collection.
