Regina residents still working on proper recycling

REGINA – Saskatchewan has come a long way since Earth Day five years ago, at least when comes to residential recycling. But according to experts, more work needs to be done to make waste diversion more effective.

“We’ve had a huge growth in the last five years or so.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We've had a huge growth in the last five years or so."

The 2016 Waste ReForum was held in Regina April 20-22. There, leaders in waste reduction outlined different ideas on how to improve the Saskatchewan recycling landscape.

“There’s both the ‘we’re getting some stuff happening’ and ‘wow, we have a ways to go,” Joanne Fedyk, executive director of Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council said.

READ MORE: Curbside recycling keeps Regina’s 2015 waste reduction goal on track

Since July 2013, residents of Regina have been diverting some of their waste.

“The curbside recycling program is averaging about 10,500 tonnes per year collected.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The curbside recycling program is averaging about 10,500 tonnes per year collected."

However, manager of waste diversion services, Janet Aird, said not everyone is catching on. From plastic toys to propane tanks, there is still plenty of ‘wishful recycling’ happening in the city.

“You’d be surprised, it’s more frequent than you’d think. Just about every week we’ll see something weird or unusual come in that shouldn’t be in the cart,” she said.

The City estimates that around 15% of material found in blue bins doesn’t belong there.

Regardless, residents are diverting waste. So much so the city is downsizing their garbage bins.

Replacement carts and carts in new neighbourhoods are now 240 forty litres instead of 360 litres.

“It’s a) to encourage diversion, b) the trend is that less people are using their garbage at full capacity,” Aird said.

The change has been met with some public backlash, but the City says they’ll meet with anyone who thinks a 360 litre cart is necessary. If a bigger cart is still warranted following an assessment, the original 360 litre cart will stay.