Winnipeg recommends recycling contract with Canada Fibers

Staff from the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, have recommended awarding a CA$9 million ($7 million) contract with Canada Fibers Ltd. to handle the processing and marketing of the city’s recyclables. The city’s water and waste committee will consider the recommendation.

Winnipeg’s City Councilors are expected to decide on whether to grant the company the contract at its April 5 meeting, according to a report by the CBC.

Staff with Winnipeg’s water and waste department are recommending the committee approve a 10-year contract with Canada Fibers when it meets April 5. If approved by the water and waste committee, the contract would still need approval from the mayor's office as well as city council. If approved, the contract would have an option for five one-year extensions.

Other companies bidding on the Winnipeg contract include Cascades Recovery, Emterra, Miller Waste Systems and Ricova International.

While collection is handled by separate companies, Canada Fibers would be responsible for processing and sorting, as well as marketing and shipping secondary commodities to potential buyers. If Canada Fibers is awarded the contract, it would begin in September 2019, after the city's current contract with Emterra expires.

In January 2018, Emterra, which has handled the city's recyclables sorting and shipping since 2002, said it would need $1.5 million more over two years to continue sending materials to China, after the country began banning 24 types of scrap  materials.

Canada Fibers already processes recycling in 14 communities in Ontario, including Toronto. The company says it handles 60 percent of the province's curbside recyclables.