Coronavirus: Biweekly garbage collection continues indefinitely in Saskatoon

Biweekly garbage collection will continue for a little while longer in Saskatoon due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The City of Saskatoon typically switches to weekly garbage collection in April.

City officials said increasing staff levels for weekly collections requires extensive close-contact training in and around vehicles and equipment.

That isn’t possible at this time due to physical-distancing measures, officials said.

“The health and safety of our employees is of utmost importance and these measures will help to limit the number of unique exposures with potentially contaminated waste containers and help reduce the spread of the virus,” the city said in a statement Tuesday.

The green cart program, however, is not affected. Officials said it will start as scheduled on May 4.

Nearly 10,000 households are signed up for the program, which diverts food and yard waste from the landfill and turns it into compost and mulch for city parks, community gardens and backyards.

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The city is delaying the opening of its two composting locations until May 4, in time to accommodate the dumping of green cart collections, officials said.

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Until then, officials said staff continue to prepare for the seasonal opening while ensuring physical-distancing measures are in place for staff, contractors and visitors.

Officials said they expect the dig-your-own compost and mulch program will be available to residents at the west depot, but that people should check the website for updates before visiting the site.