Town of Oyen council unsure about battery recycling

By Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Your West Central Voice

The Town of Oyen council may have a chance to make battery recycling easier and safer for local residents, but some questions remain. The issue was discussed at the May 12 regular meeting of council.

During regular councillors’ reports Coun. Dustin Dick gave an update on his work at Big Country Recycling; he noted that at the most recent meeting the issue of recycling household batteries came up. He stated that board members were brainstorming and trying to come up with ideas to find a solution to the problem of household batteries.

As councillors discussed the issue it was noted several times the town council didn’t like the idea of household batteries being dumped into the landfill.

Dick reported that one solid waste contractor offered to place a bin in Oyen for household battery collection; again, councillors wondered how safe it would be to collect household batteries, where such bins should be located and whether or not the batteries would still end up in a landfill.

Coun. Dick wondered if a bin was installed for household batteries whether or not local residents would actually use it.

It was noted that household battery collection in Oyen has been tried before, with issues surrounding how the batteries come into contact with each other inside boxes, containers or bins. Apparently, the battery ends can tap each other, releasing chemicals.

However, it was noted that the local dump has already seen at least one fire started by small batteries, and councillors agreed more information and updates about this idea are needed.

Coun. Dick stated the recycling board is going to continue to look into the issue.

It was noted that proposed changes to the way the Government of Alberta handles recycling may affect this, but that may not be the case.

According to the Recycling Council of Alberta’s website on May 12, “The Government of Alberta has introduced Bill 31 – Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, 2026, which includes proposed amendments to the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA) aimed at improving how recycling programs and circular economy initiatives are managed in the province.

“If passed, the amendments would provide greater flexibility for government to update recycling program materials and introduce tools such as disposal bans for specific materials. These changes are intended to reduce administrative delays, allow faster response to emerging recycling opportunities, and strengthen end-of-life material management in Alberta.

“The bill has now been introduced in the Legislative Assembly and will move through the legislative process in the coming weeks. If approved, the changes would take effect through future updates to regulations, where further details and implementation timelines would be established.”

It appears “circular materials” covers resources like aluminum or steel that can be re-used for another purpose.