Construction Recycling

Whether building or renovating, waste is generated. Dry construction waste can be taken to the Francis Cooke Regional Class III landfill for disposal. Some of this waste can be diverted into the Resource Recovery Centre.

The Francis Cooke Regional Landfill and Resource Recovery Centre is located 4 km east of the town of Exshaw on Highway 1A, which is 16 km east of the Town of Canmore. Enter left onto the access road and follow along to the right up to the Scale House.

The hours of operation are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Last load accepted at 3:45 p.m. Monday to Saturday. The site is closed on statutory holidays. For further information call 403.673.2708 or see Francis Cooke Regional Landfill.

Disposal and recycling rates vary depending upon the material.

Effective July 2007, the Francis Cooke Regional Landfill and Resource Recovery Centre has added drywall/gypsum board to the list of materials being diverted from the waste stream.

The Francis Cooke Regional Landfill accepts only dry waste, diverting various products such as wood and concrete to the Resource Recovery Centre for recycling. To help you make conscientious waste management choices we have broken down waste streams into:

Items acceptable for disposal at the landfill face
Items not acceptable for disposal at the landfill face
Items acceptable for diversion to the ResourceRecovery Centre (onsite at the Francis Cooke Regional Landfill)

Items accepted for disposal at the landfill face
Items not accepted for disposal at the Francis Cooke Regional Landfill:
Items Acceptable for Diversion to the Resource Recovery Centre (onsite at the Francis Cooke Regional Landfill)
Appliances
Asphalt
Cardboard
Concrete
Construction / Demolition Take It or Leave It
Drywall / gypsum board
Kiln-dried Wood & OSB
Metal – scrap
Scrub and brush

Items accepted for disposal at the landfill face

Non-toxic and non-hazardous waste
Wood (NO chemically/pressure treated wood)
Furniture and fixtures
Carpet and underlay
Glass or ceramics
Drywall or gypsum board
Clay bricks or cinderblocks
Roofing materials including shingles and vapour barriers
Plastics (siding trimmings, mouldings, polyethylene trimmings, plastic bags)

Items not accepted for disposal at the Francis Cooke Regional Landfill:

Liquid waste of any kind
Food wastes (or anything biodegradable)
Chemically treated wood (pressure treated, creosote, PDF,CCA, ACQ, etc.)
Paint or chemical wastes (aerosol cans, paint, etc.)
Agricultural wastes (fertilizers, cadavers, manure, etc.)
Pathogenic or bio-medical waste (needles, wraps, etc.)
Hazardous or restricted waste (asbestos, PCB ballasts, etc.)
Pesticide or herbicide containers, even if empty
Batteries or transformers (leads, acids, etc.)
Waste oil, oil filters, antifreeze or related products
Contaminated material or soils with >30% moisture
Industrial waste not approved by Alberta Environment
Sewage sludge or bio-solids from wastewater treatment
Electronics – TVs, computers, laptops, CPUs, monitors, keyboards (municipal recycling)
Fluorescent bulbs and tubes

Items Acceptable for Diversion to the Resource Recovery Centre (onsite at the Francis Cooke Regional Landfill)

Appliances

This includes all large household appliances including stoves, washers, dryers and fridges, accepted year-round.

Fees apply. There is a surcharge for freon removal from fridges.

Appliances, along with scrap metal are transformed into steel, which can be made into rebar, using only one-quarter of the energy it would take to make it from iron ore.

Asphalt

This includes old asphalt from road repair and removal. Pieces must be free from topsoil and no larger than 3-foot by 3-foot sections.

Fees apply.

Disposed asphalt is crushed into small aggregate and then used for building new roads. This crushed asphalt is available for sale.

See Aggregate and Recycled Product Sales.

Cardboard

There are two cardboard bins on site, one near the scale house and one at the face.

As cardboard is readily recycled, it should be removed from the waste stream

Cardboard is recycled into new cardboard, boxboard, building paper and shingles.

Concrete

Concrete is crushed into small aggregate. The metal and rebar is removed with large magnets. Pieces must be free from topsoil and no larger than 3-foot by 3-foot sections.

Fees apply.

The aggregate is reused as sub-base gravel that is laid down as the bottom layer of a road. This sub-base is designed to give the road strength. If the crushed recycled concrete is free of contaminants, it can also be used as the dry aggregate for brand new concrete. This recycled aggregate is available for sale.

See Aggregate and Recycled Product Sales.

Construction / Demolition Take It or Leave It

If you are disposing of construction or demolition items that may be of use to someone else, they can be placed at the “Take It or Leave It” area. This includes such items as brick, furniture, cupboards, shelving, etc.

Check at scale house prior to dropping off or picking up useable materials.

Inventory changes daily.

Drywall / gypsum board

Effective July 2007, a diversion program has been developed at the Francis Cooke Regional Landfill to collect drywall. Must be free of wood, plastic and insulation. Paint and screws are okay.

Through an aggressive grinding and screening process, the drywall is made into an agricultural soil amendment.

Kiln-dried Wood & OSB

Kiln-dried wood includes pallets, construction lumber, plywood, and laminated veneer lumber (LVL). Oriented strand board (OSB) is also accepted.

Other engineered woods such as particleboard, and medium density fibreboard (MDF) are curently NOT accepted in our resource recovery centre.

No rotting wood. No metal larger than nails.

Fees apply.

There is a special surcharge for handling pressure treated wood.

This kiln-dried wood is chipped for use as feedstock for roofing material, dimensional lumber for posts and landscaping chips.

See Aggregate and Recycled Product Sales.

Metal – scrap

This includes scrap metal including appliances, bikes, metal cabinets and old vehicles

Fees apply.

Scrap metal is melted down to form steel, which can be made into rebar, car parts and steel beams.

Scrub and brush

This includes trees and stumps from site clearing.

Fees apply.

This material is chipped on site. Wood chips and mulch are available for sale.

See Aggregate and Recycled Product Sales.