Sexsmith residents will continue to use clear bags for recycling after council decided against a $92,000 purchase of about 1,000 recycling carts at last Monday’s town council meeting.

Instead, council opted to wait on details of the province’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program, an initiative that will transfer the duties of collecting, processing, and recycling waste from taxpayers and local governments to producers.

Sexsmith Mayor Kate Potter said there are plenty of unknowns about the program, but “now that we know how much (the carts) cost, and we know that recycling is changing, we’re just waiting until that gets settled.”

Potter said the EPR program will be implemented in multiple rounds and will come into effect for the first round of communities which have signed up on Jan. 1, 2025.

“It doesn’t make sense for us to make a decision one way or another until we understand more about the EPR program and what the recycling body will be requesting from us or providing for our residents.

“(We will) have a better idea of what the impact could be, and how we can work together to make sure that our residents get good recycling.”

The province says on its website the EPR will encourage companies to find innovative ways to recycle more materials and produce less packaging waste.

Circular Materials, a third-party company, has been awarded the contract by the province to take care of recycling for communities that have signed up for the EPR program.