Blue Cart Fee to Be Reduced April 1, 2025!
Calgarians will soon see big savings on their Blue Cart fee, which will drop to just $2.17 per month—that’s a $7.17 per month savings for every household!
The City of Calgary collaborated with the Province of Alberta and has established new partnerships with producer groups to implement EPR for Calgarians. The Alberta’s new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system, where manufacturers and brands will be responsible for collecting, sorting, processing, partially funding and recycling the materials they create.
What Calgarians can expect:
• Reduced blue cart fee on the ENMAX bill (After April 1, 2025).
• Continued high-quality collection and customer service from The City of Calgary with a seamless transition and maintained service levels.
• More efficient, effective, and consistent recycling system.
For more information, visit www.calgary.ca/waste/residential/extended-producer-responsibility.
Travel Safe Student Video Contest
Are you or someone you know in Calgary a student in Grades K to 12? Are you passionate about promoting safety while travelling along city streets, sidewalks, or pathways? Do you like making short videos?
Now is your time to shine and make a positive impact with the City of Calgary’s Travel Safe Student Video Contest!
The City is looking for students to create an original 30-second video highlighting safe travel practices, for a chance to win awesome prizes and have your video showcased online!
You can choose to do it on your own, team up with your classmates, friends, or ask your family for help. Everyone’s welcome to participate! Submissions will be accepted until April 30, 2025.
Get ready to showcase your talent and help make our city streets safer for everyone!
Winners will be announced at their exclusive Video Contest Screening Party on May 14, 2025, at the Central Library.
Calgary Fire Department Deaf and Hard-Of-Hearing Program
The Calgary Fire Department (CFD) launched a new program, funded by The City of Calgary’s Equity in Service Delivery Fund, to provide free specialized smoke and carbon monoxide alerting devices for eligible Deaf and hard-of-hearing residents, enhancing fire safety and inclusivity.
Traditional smoke and carbon monoxide alarms rely on high-pitched audio alerts, which can be ineffective for those with hearing loss. Assistive alerting devices address this challenge by incorporating:
• Flashing strobe lights that provide a visual warning of smoke or carbon monoxide detection.
• Bed or pillow shakers that vibrate to wake individuals during emergencies.
• Loud, low-pitched audio signals specifically designed for individuals with hearing loss.
Since 1996, CFD’s Home Safety Program has visited over 500,000 homes and installed nearly 35,000 traditional smoke alarms. This new program builds on that legacy, focusing on the unique needs of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community. With $100,000 allocated to the overall program, CFD continues its commitment to equitable fire safety for all Calgarians.
To qualify for these free devices, applicants must:
• Self-identify as Deaf or hard of hearing.
• Reside within Calgary city limits.
• Participate in financial support programs such as Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) or Fair Entry.
Calgarians interested in this program can visit calgary.ca/fire or contact the Community Safety Team at [email protected] for more information or to begin the application process.
How to Prevent CO Build-Up in Your Home
Yearly Tips:
• Every year check all the fuel-burning appliances in your house; make sure they are working properly and used properly.
• Make sure fuel-burning appliances, chimneys, and vents are cleaned and inspected by professionals every year before you start to use them, usually when the weather gets cold.
Indoor Tips:
• Never use the stove or oven to heat your home.
• Make sure to open the flue of your fireplace before you use it.
• Never run a car, vehicle, or other motor inside a garage, even if the garage door is open. Always drive your car or vehicle out of the garage right after starting it.
Outdoor Tips:
• Make sure your vents for the dryer, furnace, stove, fireplace, and other fuel-burning appliances are always clear of snow and other debris.
• Only use gas and charcoal barbeques outdoors, away from all doors, windows, vents, and other building openings. Never use barbeques inside a garage, even if the garage door is open.
• Only use portable fuel-burning generators outdoors in well-ventilated areas away from windows, doors, vents, and other building openings.
• Make sure portable fuel-burning heaters are vented properly, according to their instructions.
• Check the outside and inside walls of your house for cracks, holes, separations, and check for rust, stains, or carbon deposits on heating ducts or pipes.
• Check the flame on fuel-burning appliances – it should be clear blue with occasional yellow tips.
Right Tree, Right Location
Planting your own tree can be a little daunting. The City of Calgary’s 2025 Right Tree, Right Location in-person workshops are now open for registration. This course will help you choose and plant a new tree in your yard. The workshops take place from early March to early April.
You can find more information and register here: www.calgary.ca/parks/trees/education-workshops.html and www.calgary.ca/parks-rec-programs/nature/adults-nature.html.
Click here to the Cougar Ridge Community News home page for the latest Cougar Ridge community updates.
Click here to the West Springs Community News home page for the latest West Springs community updates.
