Raven ReCentre announces plan to cut recycling services in Whitehorse

Starting in September of this year, Whitehorse's main recycler, Raven ReCentre, says it will no longer accept paper, plastic packaging, cardboard or tin at its depot.

The organisation's director, Heather Ashthorn, says that the decision will allow Raven to focus more on its zero-waste mandate and that the coming Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations in Yukon will offer a more robust system for dealing with this kind of waste.

EPR regulations will shift the cost and responsibility of recycling onto corporations that produce the waste. The details of how this system will work in the Yukon have not yet been released by the territorial government, but it is expected to come into effect in 2025.

"We really hope that there isn't a gap in service," says Ashthorn. "We don't know which way the City [of Whitehorse] is going to go, but we've been working alongside them and we will continue to do that.

"We're very interested in continuing to be advisors and partners with them as they build what we hope turns into a curbside collection."

The Yukon government has committed to investing $2.4 million over two years into the creation of a curbside recycling program in Whitehorse.

However, the city has stated its reluctance to create such a program without a guarantee of long-term funding.

Environment Minister Nils Clarke wrote to the city on Thursday stating that an industry group called Circular Materials has expressed an interest in operating an EPR program for packaging and paper products and that the organization is currently in the process of creating a detailed plan about how it would operate.

"There's no guarantee the producer's proposal will be fulfilled before then," says Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn.

According to the city, recycling will be discussed at next week's council meeting. Minister Mostyn says he'll be listening.