Effective Sept. 15, the Raven ReCentre will no longer accept, process nor ship most non-refundable recyclables.

Those are mainly comprised of cardboard, paper, plastics and tin cans.

The free public drop-off service for those items at 100 Galena Rd. will close permanently on that date, Raven said today.

Post-Sept. 15, Raven is encouraging members of the public to contact the City of Whitehorse for guidance on what to do with their cardboard, paper, plastics and tin cans.

Raven will still offer a 24-hour drop-off service for other materials, such as textiles and refundables, and continue its other services.

Raven had said in 2023 it would close its bins last Dec. 31 as it waited for the city to implement a recyclables pickup service, then extended that deadline until mid-summer.

“This is a big step forward for us,” Raven president Jacqueline Bedard said today.

“Our long-held vision of transforming Raven into an eco-centre, focused on Zero Waste, is coming to fruition.

“We’ll continue with Raven’s other initiatives, while introducing Zero Waste innovations. These include education, the Reuseful Store, the Tool Lending Library, and a few exciting projects that will be announced soon.”

Raven first notified the city and Yukon government in 2022 that it would no longer provide a free drop-off service for non-refundables by the initial Dec. 31, 2023 deadline as the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program was being developed. That was well over a year’s notice, Bedard pointed out.

“By this September, we will have bridged the gap for an additional nine months in hopes of a city-wide curbside collection program,” she said.

“We are now moving on with our next steps and have begun the process of selling our processing equipment.”

EPR means the products Raven has accepted at its drop-off facility will soon become the responsibility of their producers. EPR will fully come into effect in 2026.

Heather Ashthorn, Raven ReCentre’s executive director, said the timing of the Sept. 15 change was carefully considered.

“We have always been proactive, honest and upstanding members of the community,” she said.

“Our stakeholders, partners, both levels of government, and the public deserve certainty.”

The city continues to consider its role in a curbside recycling program.

As an active founding member of the Recycling Committee along with the city and Yukon government, Raven said, it has been deeply involved in the process.

“We have provided a lot of guidance and advice in the hopes of preventing any gap of recycling service for Whitehorse,” said Ashthorn.

“Our free public drop-off was never an ideal or permanent solution for these materials. It is inaccessible to many Whitehorse residents.

“A city-wide curbside program would address this, and it would also divert more material from the landfill. That’s why we’ve been advocating for such a system for years.”

In 2015, Ashthorn recalled, “we came close to achieving this goal and the city, after awarding a tender, withdrew support in the last hour.

“This time, we have tried a different approach, and over the past year and a half, we have declared consistently that we are handing over the reins to the city and will not be reversing the decision.

“The time has come for this transition to take place. We’ll continue to be here to help.”

P&M Recycling, which operates smaller drop-off premises downtown, said last year it would cease that service if Raven did so because the added demand on P&M would be too overwhelming.

Mayor Laura Cabott said in 2023 a city pickup program would involve direct though unspecified charges to users, and would not be offered in country residential subdivisions.

Ashtorn said she is relieved that EPR creates a legally responsible entity to manage and fund the non-refundable system.

“This has been a key missing ingredient for an effective system,” she said.

“We remain hopeful that the city will raise the bar for service before the regulation takes effect, collaborate with the producers to design a program that works with the new regulation, and implement that program in time to ensure there is no gap in service.”

While Sept. 15 will mark the end of an era for recyclers, Bedard said, it will also be the start of a new one, though it’s a “bittersweet” sequence of events.

“Obviously, this will mean fewer people coming to our front door,” she said.

“But to achieve Zero Waste in the Yukon, that’s a good thing. And this news is cause for celebration. We are doing some really exciting things at Raven, and this will open many more doors.”

Raven will continue to receive textiles, refundable materials, metals and e-waste.

Education and outreach, the Reuseful Store, the Recycling Club for kids, the Tool Lending Library, Computers for Schools, and other programs will continue and even expand. The store is only open part-time.

Raven plans to remain a resource for information, dialogue and Zero Waste solutions.

“We’ve been around since the ’80s, and the end of us dealing with these materials is the beginning of something bigger,” Bedard said.

“Stay tuned, because we are just getting started.”