By TERRY PUGH
Loraas Disposal North, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Waste Connections of Canada Inc., will continue to handle garbage and recycling collection services for the City of Warman at least until the end of 2027.
Warman City Council voted at its meeting on Monday, February 23 to renew the contract with the company for the calendar years 2026 and 2027. The contract extension include a 4% price increase in each of the two years.
Previously, the city had signed a one-year contract with Loraas to cover the 2025 calendar year.
The new contract includes a provision allowing the City of Warman to terminate the recycling portion of the contract at any point given 30 days notice in order to accommodate a new provincial recycling program operated by SK Recycles that is scheduled to take effect in December, 2027.
An additional clause in the contract extends the 2027 rates for any months in 2028 during which Loraas continues to service the city before SK Recycles assumes full responsibility for its Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program.
According to a city administration report to the February 23 council meeting, the city has had “a great relationship” with Loraas over many years, and all indications are that residents are happy with the service provided by the company. Administration did, however, reach out to a competing firm and learned that its prices would be higher than those charged by Loraas.
During discussion at the February 23 meeting, councillors favoured approval of the two-year contract with Loraas, noting it provides the city with some flexibility down the road when the vaguely-defined SK Recycles program is slated to kick in.
By extending the current contract with Loraas, the city avoids assuming additional liability for recycling contamination under the new SK Recycling guidelines slated to take effect in late 2027 and early 2028, according to the city administration. The city also will not be charged any additional fees, nor will it be responsible for the cost of implementing measures to educate the public on what can and cannot be recycled under the SK Recycles regime.
Uncertainty over how the provincially-mandated SK Recycles system will operate stuck in the craw of city councillors, particularly since municipalities are required to commit to participating in either the SK Recycles program-led model or devise their own community-led model in compliance with SK Recycles guidelines before the end of next year. Not only is it an unrealistically-tight time frame, but it may also open communities up to unknown liabilities and unforeseen costs, according to several councillors.
In November, 2025, Warman City Council had voted to participate in the SK Recycles program-led model in which SK Recycles would be responsible for the collection, transportation and processing of recyclable material, as well as all education regarding the type of materials allowed for recycling.
At that time, based on the information supplied by SK Recycles representatives, council and administration felt that was the best option. They were also told the deadline to make a decision was December, 2025.
However, in January, 2026, a letter was received from SK Recycles advising the city that prior to December, 2027, the city must temporarily implement its own community-led model. This interim step would make the city responsible for contamination rates, which would pose financial risk due to penalties for exceeding the 6% contamination threshold. A representative from SK Recycles engaged in dialogue with councillors at a meeting in January, but councillors left the meeting frustrated with the outcome.
The frustration carried over into the February 23 council meeting.
“This SK Recycles program is a moving target,” said Councillor Richard Beck. “The province has left too many gaps, and we don’t know enough about the service to commit to it at this point. We’ve only had partial answers.”
Beck suggested the city should reconsider its commitment to participate in the SK Recycles program-led initiative, noting there are too many unanswered questions.
Councillor Marshall Seed was also wary of committing to a provincial program that is not yet fully fleshed out.
“It’s frustrating,” said Seed. “We don’t want to paint ourselves into a corner by signing onto a deal that we don’t know the full implications of.”
Seed said a similar scenario happened recently in the tire recycling sector, where responsibility for the program was given to a third-party agency with devastating consequences.
“No one is in favour of a community-led program,” said Seed. “But the SK Recycles program needs clarification now, not two years down the road.”
Warman Mayor Gary Philipchuk agreed the provincial program is vague, but the city does have guarantees that it will not be saddled with liability costs.
“We’re at a fork in the road at this point,” said Philipchuk. “By going with the SK Recycles program, it takes a lot of liability off the city. I agree they seem to be building the plane in the air as they go along, but it would be reckless of us to back out now. It’s in Warman’s best interests to go with the program-led model.”
Councillor Shaun Cripps summed it up this way: “We’re not in favour of a community-led model, but if we don’t go with the SK Recycles option, that’s what we’ll end up with by default. It’s not the intent, but that’s what will happen.”