Francis Cooke Regional Class III Landfill and Resource Recovery Centre

The Francis Cooke Regional Class III Landfill and Resource Recovery Centre is a dry waste landfill. No food, domestic or household garbage, hazardous wastes or liquids can be disposed at this site. We only accept inert solid waste at our working face where the waste is buried. However not all dry waste brought to our site is landfilled. Of the 27,400 tonnes of dry waste brought to our site in 2006, just over 17,000 tonnes were diverted from the landfill’s working face. With 62% of the waste being diverted, our site functions more like a Resource Recovery Centre than a landfill. In 2006 we diverted:

5,000 tonnes of concrete
7,800 tonnes of asphalt
2,000 tonnes of scrub and brush
1,200 tonnes of metal
780 tonnes of kiln-dried wood
320 tonnes of yard, leaf and garden clippings
35 tonnes of cardboard
70 tonnes of tires

These diverted materials were either shipped off-site for recycling or further modified to produce a useful product or material (i.e. wood mulch). See Aggregate and Recycled Product Sales for more information. Although we are diverting a significant amount of waste from the landfill’s face, we want to divert even more. We have set a diversion goal of 80% by weight annually for 2010. Much of this will come from construction waste. Our Member municipalities support this goal through various programs.

Location and hours
Disposal and recycling fees
Aggregate and Recycled Product Sales
Acceptable Materials for Landfill Main Face
Unacceptable Items for Landfill
Acceptable Items for Recycling at the Landfill’s Resource Recovery Centre
Appliances
Asphalt
Auto wrecks
Cardboard
Concrete
Construction / Demolition Take It or Leave It
Drywall / gypsum board
Kiln - dried wood
Metal – scrap
Scrub and brush
Tires
Yard waste – grass, leaf and garden clippings

Location and hours

The Francis Cooke Regional Class III Landfill 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.

Hours of operation: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday.
No loads accepted after 3:45 p.m.
Closed on statutory holidays.
Call for further information: 403.673.2708

Disposal and recycling fees

View PDF 2009 Rate Card

Aggregate and Recycled Product Sales

We have the following products from our Resource Recovery Centre for sale:

Screened soil / compost                         $ 10.60 / cubic yard
Recycled asphalt products (RAP)         $ 4.50 / tonne
Recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) $ 2.50 / tonne
Wood mulch (fine)                                  $ 3.21 / tonne
Wood chips                                            Flat rate based on vehicle size

For special orders or volume sales, contact the Francis Cooke Regional Landfill at 403.673.2708.

Acceptable Materials for Landfill Main Face

Non-toxic and non-hazardous waste
Wood (not chemically treated)
Furniture and fixtures
Carpet or underlay
Glass or ceramics
Clay bricks or cinderblocks
Roofing materials including shingles and vapour barriers
Plastics (siding trimming, moldings, polyethylene trimmings, plastic bags)

Unacceptable Items for Landfill

Liquid waste of any kind
Food wastes (or anything biodegradable)
Chemically treated wood (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.)
Lawn and garden chemicals, pesticides, insecticides, herbicides
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, keyboard (municipal recycling programs)
Fluorescent bulbs and tubes (municipal recycling programs)

If you are unsure about an item, please contact us for advice:
Phone: 403.673-2708

Acceptable Items for Recycling at the Landfill’s Resource Recovery Centre

The Francis Cooke Regional Landfill accepts only dry waste, diverting various products such as wood and concrete to the Resource Recovery Centre for recycling. Please note that loads must be tarped or secured. Click on the item to link to more detailed information.

Appliances

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

Fees apply. There is a fee 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.

Auto wrecks

This includes all types of vehicles including old passenger cars, trucks, and vans.

Fluids must be drained and tires removed from vehicles.

Fees apply.

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

Cardboard

There is one cardboard bin located 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

Kiln-dried wood includes pallets, construction lumber, plywood, and laminated veneer lumber (LVL).

Engineered wood including particleboard, oriented strand board (OSB), and medium density fibreboard (MDF) is not acceptable due to the resin component.

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. Propane tanks are not accepted. Please return them to certified a propane dealer.

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.

Tires

This includes passenger car and truck tires. They are collected as part of the Tire Recycle Alberta program (www.albertarecycling.ca).

Rims must be removed.

Fees apply.

Used tires are shredded and the inner metal part is removed. The shredded rubber sometimes goes through another process to produce rubber crumb, which can be shaped and formed into many different products. It can be made into roofing tiles and building products, playground surfaces, landscaping tiles, livestock mattresses and mats, and rubber asphalt roads.

Yard waste – grass, leaf and garden clippings

This includes all grass, leaf and garden waste.

No plastic bags.

Fees apply.

Yard, leaf and garden clippings are composted at the Francis Cooke Regional Landfill. Finished compost is available for sale.

See Aggregate and Recycled Product Sales.