The Town of Cochrane has a variety of programs to help residents and businesses reduce their waste. The Town’s Zero Waste Framework (adopted by Council in 2012) has a goal of diverting 80% of local waste sent to the landfill by 2020.

In 2018, the Town hosted several working sessions with the ICI sector and an online survey to help develop a made-in-Cochrane strategy to reach Town zero waste goals in an effective, economical way. Since then, the local and international waste management market has experienced multiple changes and challenges, and the Town’s plans were temporarily put on hold.

Most of Cochrane’s waste goes to Calgary landfills. The City of Calgary’s Businesses and Organizations Waste Diversion Strategy requires all businesses and institutions to recycle and divert organic (food and yard) waste from city landfills. In fact, Calgary landfills started limiting inclusion and adding surcharges to loads of garbage containing paper, cardboard or organics in 2018/2019.

The Town is now resuming the waste diversion conversation with the ICI sector for the development and implementation of our own ICI Waste Diversion Program.