Well, rats: A pair of Calgary recycling plants are battling rodent infestations

Rats have found their way into two Calgary recycling plants.

One of the companies, Cascades Recovery+, confirms its issue and says it's working on it.

"We are currently dealing with the presence of Norway rats at our recovery facility in Calgary," said Hugo D'Amours, spokesperson for Cascades.

"The issue is under control and being managed onsite."

Alberta considers itself rat-free.

On the province's Rat Control Program website, it says, "Albertans have enjoyed living without the menace of rats since 1950 when the Rat Control Program was established.

"Alberta's rat-free status means there is no resident population of rats and they are not allowed to establish themselves.

"It does not mean we never get rats. Small infestations occasionally occur, but when found, the rats are isolated and eradicated through proven control methods."

Cascades Recovery+ is one of two Calgary recycling plants currently battling rat infestations. The company and the province are confident the fight is going in the right direction.

D'Amours, who isn't based at the facility in Calgary, says he can't put a number to the rats at Cascades.

But he says they haven't disrupted the company's Calgary operation.

The province confirms both infestations -- the one at Cascades and the other at Capital Paper Recycling -- and says there are numerous rats at each and that it's been going on for a couple of years.

Karen Wickerson, Alberta's rat and pest control specialist, also says it's hard to put an exact number to the rats.

"They're very challenging environments because they have a place to live, they're warm and they have a constant food source coming in," she said.

"In these facilities, it was very easy for them to exist for a while and populate before people knew they were in the facility."

Wickerson says while the issue is ongoing, she believes both facilities are gradually winning the battle.

"We've been working on this and we're at a good point with both of them, where the numbers are declining," she said.

There's no danger to surrounding facilities, Wickerson said.

"They really have no reason to want to leave the facility, which is good," she said.

"(But) we definitely monitor around the area of these two facilities."

Cascades Recovery+ is one of two Calgary recycling plants currently battling rat infestations. The company and the province are confident the fight is going in the right direction.

Sources say the city is also involved in the ongoing process at Cascades and Capital Paper Recycling.

D'Amours also says the city is involved.

And Wickerson says she's "in communication with my designated people there weekly, daily, sometimes."

CTV News Calgary reached out to the city but a spokesperson said it was unclear whether the city had any awareness of, or involvement in, the situation.

Nobody wants rats, particularly in as highly controlled a province as Alberta, but D'Amours says rodents popping up at recycling facilities does happen, and does need to be dealt with.

"The transcontinental and international nature of the shipping and receiving of recyclables can result in rodents transferring from one region to another," D'Amours said.

"Cascades is a city contractor that sorts recycled material from curbside collection in Calgary. We therefore receive containers, packaging and printed material from every (Calgarian's) door in order to sort it and allow it to be recycled.

"As the containers or packaging placed in the blue bin may contain food residue, there is also a risk that rats will be transported to our sorting facility."

D'Amours says everyone can play a part in lessening the risk of rats.

"It's important to remind Calgarians and those in the Calgary region, to rinse recyclables. All recyclables must be empty, clean and dry -- this will help reduce the food sources that the rats are attracted to," he said.

Wickerson says the Medicine Hat landfill rat infestation more than a decade ago was "the last really big, significant one we've had."

She says a landfill is also "a great place if you're a rat."

The Medicine Hat landfill rat infestation situation also took a couple of years to resolve.