City of Saskatoon offers tips for how to reduce waste over the holidays

Recycling and reducing waste is the name of the game for the holiday season, and the City of Saskatoon has some tips for people to help out.

“It’s really important that we recycle the materials we wrap with correctly,” said Amber Weckworth, city manager of education and environmental performance.

“And sometimes that means not recycling things.”

Gift bags, ribbons and bows are just a few of the items that can’t be recycled.

Weckworth said a tip for figuring out whether or not something is recyclable when it comes to wrapping paper is that if it rips, it can go in the recycling bin.

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Despite people’s efforts, a lot of items end up in the wrong collection bin this time of year.

“We tend to find a lot of non-recyclable items in the recycling bins,” Weckworth said.

“We call it ‘wish cycling.’ It means the people want to do the right thing but it’s important that we know what is recyclable and what isn’t, because of the issues it can cause at the recycling facility.”

For the city, this is part of an initiative to reduce the volume of garbage within the next six years.

“Our target is to divert 70 per cent from our waste from our landfill by 2023,” Weckworth said. “Recycling is a big part of that.”

The city also offers temporary drop-off sites for natural Christmas trees so they can be composted or used as mulch.

Drop-off locations are as follows:

• Lawson Heights recycling depot – Primrose Drive by the Lawson Civic Centre;
• University Heights recycling depot – Lowe Road;
• Meadowgreen recycling depot – corner of 22nd Street West and Witney Avenue;
• George Ward Pool parking lot – 5th Street & Grosvenor Avenue;
• Wildwood Golf Course parking lot – 4050 8th St. East; and
• Doukhobor Society parking lot – 525 Ave. I South at 17th Street.

If people want to enjoy the festive season a bit longer, there’s no rush as depots are open until Jan. 31, 2019.

The city won’t pick up Christmas trees from back lanes, street fronts, or garbage and recycling carts.