It’s Time for Curbside Recycling
Next month, Whitehorse City Council will decide whether or not to move forward with a curbside recycling program. It’s time for them to say yes. Thirty-five years ago, Raven was established as a society to bring recycling to the Yukon and help protect the environment. What started as a small volunteer operation is now a vital social enterprise, where all profits go back to benefit the community. From our bottle depot to the Whitehorse Tool Library, from our metals and e-waste shops to our soon-to-expand Reuseful Store — our services continue to grow as Raven works to achieve Zero Waste. For example, we know that Yukoners care about glass. We are working on a plan...stay tuned!
Our free public drop-off for paper and packaging was always intended to be a temporary solution until the City stepped up with a city-wide program. In 2015 Mayor and Council agreed on curbside pick-up, tasked administration to develop it, tendered the contract—and then pulled the plug at the last minute. After this outcome and decades of advocacy, Raven had to switch gears.
In 2020, the Yukon Government announced their intent to implement recycling regulation. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) holds the manufacturers and retailers of paper and packaging accountable for the cost of the full life cycle of the material. Starting in 2026, these producers will have to manage and pay for collection at the “existing minimum standard”.
The unanswered question is what level of service we, as a community, want these big corporations to be accountable for. Will it be a largely inaccessible, inefficient drop-off to replicate what Raven has been running for decades? Or will we finally establish a service that collects directly from each of our homes, including multi-family residences, and significantly increases the amount we recycle?
There is only one responsible choice. For Raven’s 35th birthday, please tell Mayor and Council to do the right thing. Email them at mayorandcouncil@whitehorse.ca. Come to the Council meeting in June and ask to speak as a delegate. Talk to your neighbours, friends and family. Make it known that we all deserve better.
Let’s make curbside recycling a reality in Whitehorse. It’s time.
Yours truly,
Jacqueline Bedard, President and Heather Ashthorn, Executive Director
Raven ReCentre