Alberta to start permanently recycling hundreds of electronic items

The Alberta government is making a pilot program to recycle more than 500 electronic items permanent.

The province says it will start in April 2025 and will enable residents to continue to recycle things like cell phones, microwaves and video game equipment.

The pilot project allowed the province to work through any potential issues with recycling the additional items, according to CEO of the Alberta Recycling Management Authority (ARMA) Ed Gugenheimer.

“We’re still continuing to take those materials, so from a risk perspective, this entire pilot was to see where the problems lie and to see whether or recyclers could actually recycle those materials,” he says.

The items that can be recycle province-wide include:

• power tools 
• lawn and garden equipment  
• small appliances (e.g., microwaves, coffee machines, digital bathroom scales) 
• cell phones / telephones 
• A/V devices (e.g., speakers, DVD players, VCRs) 
• musical instruments (e.g., electric guitars, keyboards) 
• video game equipment 

The provincial government says it could mean fees on these items of anywhere from 40 cents to $1 — but Environment and Protected Areas minister Rebecca Schulz says those figures could change.

“That was an estimate from the department on where we may be started right now, but they may change given industry feedback over the next couple of months,” she says.

Once the program launches, the items can be dropped off at any of the 365 registered recycling depots in 148 municipalities across the province.