Calgary has (kind of, sort of) fixed its clamshell recycling problem

Calgary has found a buyer for some of its clamshell recycling, but it's still looking for a long-term solution to rid itself of its enormous plastic stockpile.

The city has spent about $300,000 in 2018 and 2019 to rent semi-trailers to stockpile clamshell containers like the type that strawberries and baked goods come in. 

That's because one of Canada's biggest buyers of material that can be recycled, China, stopped taking certain types of goods. 

The city has found a buyer to take all of the containers that have come to the facility since spring.

"The material that's been coming here to the Cascades facility since April has been successfully marketed to a local plastics recycler, Merlin Plastics. So we're very happy to say that if you're putting those clamshells in your blue cart today, they are getting recycled," said Sharon Howland, with waste and recycling services.

So, the pile's not growing.

But the city is still storing about 100 trailer loads of plastics at the city's Shepard Waste Management Facility.

Howland said the city is exploring multiple options, and that Merlin is also trying to come up with a plan to move some of the stored material. 

But that doesn't mean people shouldn't recycle clamshell items — the city is still accepting those while it looks for that long-term solution.

A full list of what can and can't be recycled is available on the city's website.