Sylvan Lake will be switching to automated recycling collection this fall.

The town had previously halted plans to introduce the large roll-out carts last spring in anticipation of a deal with the waste-to-energy company, Fogdog.

It will be some time before the company builds its no-landfill disposal facility, which proposes to turn solid waste into fuel.

“There’s going to be some delay there with getting approvals from Alberta Environment and then of course the construction of the facility itself. Enough to warrant us to go back to our initial plans,” said communications coordinator Joanne Gaudet.

“Just a bit of a delay due to the back-and-forth with the future of waste management in Sylvan Lake.”

The town will be holding a public hearing on the matter on Sept. 24, with automated collection to start Oct. 2.

Carts are expected to be delivered to homeowners at the end of September. The town has a list of what materials will be accepted, and how to place the carts.

At 240 L, the carts are considerably larger than what residents currently use for recycling and will be picked up every other week.

“They’re much more secure. Having the lid is great. The wind problem in the summer with everything blowing all over the streets becomes a problem so this puts an end to that,” said Gaudet.

“It also reduces a lot of risk on our human resources. We are no longer dealing with the weight of these bins and tossing them into trucks or slipping on ice. (Collection’s) all done through vehicles.”