The city is planning to take its mandatory recycling program to apartment and condo buildings.

Blue carts have been picked up from single family homes for the past five years, but the city has been looking for a way to further cut down on the amount of waste going to landfills.

A council committee approved a plan Wednesday that will see private companies pick up recyclables from any building with five or more units.

The city says it will be cheaper to work with private companies to tailor recycling service to each building than it would be for the city to buy different types of equipment to do the job.

Jeremy Baretto, who lives in an inner city condo building that doesn't have a recycling service, says he is looking forward to it.

Currently he takes his recyclables to a depot but says he knows of others who just throw that material in with their garbage.

Baretto says he's confident there is a way companies can meet every building's needs.

Plan to be rolled out over 2 years

Coun. Evan Woolley said while he is disappointed it will take up to 18 months to roll out, he understands why more time is needed to make sure it works. (CBC)

The plan will go to city council next month for final approval and would be rolled out over the next two years.

Ward 8 Coun. Evan Woolley has been pushing for this program.

He said while he is disappointed it will take up to 18 months to roll out, he understands why more time is needed to make sure it works.

"There's a ton of education, awareness," he said. "There are going to be kinks in the system inevitably and we need some time to work out those kinks but, you know, sooner is better. I mean 35 per cent of multi units are already actually recycling."

Spencer Kennedy, with Urban Impact Recycling, expects the company will grow given the role the city is giving private haulers.

"This could be a huge benefit not just for Calgarians but for the private sector and I think as far as keeping recyclable materials out of landfills, this is a crucial step," he said.