Saskatoon considers overhauling waste services

The City of Saskatoon plans to "explore" the expansion of its waste services, and has released several options council is considering in report.

The average household in the city produces 16 kilograms of waste, adding up to 100,000 tonnes of waste a year. Saskatoon's goal is to divert 75 per cent of this waste away from the landfillto save space and money.

Two strategies proposed by the report wouldchange the way homeowners pay for waste pickup a controversial notion for many residents and furnish every homecurrently usinga black garbage bin with a green cart for organic waste.

Incentive to reduce

Saskatoon will not charge its citizens by weight of their waste, according to Brenda Wallace, director of environmental and corporate initiatives.

"There's a lot of uncertainty whetherWeights and MeasuresCanada would allow us to use a device on a truck," she said

If you bring a variable price and give residents more control and remove the perception that waste is free,you can see some positive outcomes for that- Brenda Wallace, director of environmental and corporate initiatives for the City of Saskatoon

"The cost to change our waste trucks is something we considered."

The snow and ice that invariably comes with a Canadian winter poseseveral problems for a weight-based cost measurement.

Instead, the city is consideringcharging homeowners based on the size of their binand frequency of pickup.

"If you bring a variable price and give residents more control and remove the perception that waste is free, you can see some positive outcomes for that," Wallace said.

The city is considering options for low-income households, such as expanding the city's property tax deferral program, and providing discounts for carts.

This model could be implemented as soon as 2020.

City behind on organic waste collection

In their report to the standing policy committee on environment, utilities, and corporate services, the city cited a survey of 30 Canadian citieswith a population over 150,000.It reveals Saskatoon is one of twocitieswithout curbside collection of yard waste, and one of five cities without a food waste collection program,

The city's current green cart program offers biweekly pickup of food and yard waste from May to November, but only 11 per cent of single family households in Saskatoon subscribe.

Saskatoon's landfillwaste comprises up of 32 per cent organic waste, which the city would rather redirect from the landfill. Organic waste needs to decompose properly, and when it is buried in an airless environment, such as a landfill, the organics release methane gas and garbage fluids, which are also harmful to the environment.

The current green cart program is unlikely to divert more than 5,000 tonnes of the residential sectors' 36,600 tonnesin the next ten years.

The proposed plan from the city's report offers two options: self-haul to an organic waste facility, or contracted collection from the curb using bags or carts.

Big plans for diversion

The city has set a target of diverting 75per cent of the community's waste from the landfill, to be reused, recycled, or composted. Last year, only 22 per cent of such waste was diverted, giving Saskatoon the second lowest diversion rate among Canadian cities.

A new landfill could cost the city up to $100 million, and closing the current landfill would cost $26 million.

The city's potential plan will be reviewed during community discussion this fall.

City council may implement a flat utility fee for waste as early as 2018. If so, the rate will be identified during budget deliberations in November.