Blackfalds council awarded its solid waste contract to Can Pak Environmental last night.

The contract is worth $476,000, which is 4.4 per cent more than last year due to inflation and changes to the Chinese market for recyclables.

According to Mayor Richard Poole, material shipped from Canada has not been meeting standards overseas.

“So naturally they’re concerned because they have throw out a lot of materials. They have to do extra work to make them usable. And they’ve put a moratorium on any more recycling coming into their country until countries like Canada are making sure everything we send over there is ready for recycling,” Poole said.

“Until that happens, they’re not able to accept it. Can Pak has a processing plant and they’re working very hard to ensure that the product that comes out of Blackfalds, will meet the standards.”

The town’s contract with Can Pak is for three years at the status quo level of service.