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Calgary Economic Development
Phone: 403-221-7831
Toll-free: 1-888-222-5855
Fax: 403-221-7828
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Recycling & Composting
Relocate And Expand |
Infrastructure |
Recycling & Composting
The City of Calgary is serious about recycling, and as such has set ambitious goals for the future to reduce waste added to its landfills. Its long-term goal is to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills to just 20%, and recycling or recovering 80% of waste materials by the year 2020. Currently, the numbers are the other way around: 80% of waste goes into the landfills and 20% is recycled.
Citizens are so conscientious about recycling that they are now sending about the same amount of waste to landfills as they were doing a decade ago, with a population of 150,000 fewer people. So while the amount being landfilled has stayed the same, the amount of material being diverted and recycled has increased dramatically.
Almost 29 million kilograms of material were collected at neighbourhood depots in 2003. This is an increase of approximately 2 million kilograms from the previous year. The total amount outweighs 75 Boeing 747 jumbo jets stacked together!
Fast Facts
| Collected from Neighbourhood Depots |
Amount |
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Collected from Other Recycling Programs |
Amount |
| Newspaper & Magazines |
18,568,000 kgs |
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Computer Equipment |
220,000 kgs |
| Glass Containers |
1,094,000 kgs |
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Christmas Trees |
50,000 trees |
| Metal Food Cans |
664,000 kgs |
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Leaves & Pumpkins |
1,790,000 kgs |
| Milk Jugs & Cartons |
363,000 kgs |
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Batteries |
210 kgs |
| Residential Mixed Paper & Cardboard |
7,663,000 kgs |
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Tires |
192,000 kgs |
| Commercial Mixed Paper & Cardboard |
548,000 kgs |
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Propane Tanks |
78,000 kgs |
| Plastic Bags |
75,000 kgs |
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Oil |
424,216 litres |
| Total Collected from Neighbourhood Depots |
28,427,000 kgs |
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Scrap Metal (Appliances) |
5,974,000 kgs |
Composting is a naturally occurring process of decay. When gardeners build compost piles they speed up and intensify this process, producing a "home-made" fertilizer.
There are many benefits to composting. It reduces the amount of household garbage -- about one third of household waste can be composted -- which in turn reduces wastes sent to landfills. The finished product of composting -- Humus -- makes soil easier to work. Compost improves the chemical and physical properties of the soil, decreases leaching, and acts as a slow-release fertilizer. Compost can be used as mulch around trees, and in shrub and flower beds. When you use your own compost you don't need to buy expensive soil conditioners and fertilizers.
Addtional Information on Recycling and Composting
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