Weekly residential garbage collection to begin next month in Saskatoon

The City of Saskatoon will move to weekly garbage collection as soon as mid-May.

Since COVID-19 hit Saskatchewan, decisions have been made quickly and Saskatoon city council hasn’t pushed back on anything, until Wednesday.

A press release was sent out Tuesday, announcing residential bi-weekly garbage pickups would continue into spring instead of changing to weekly pickups.

Many council members had issues with the decision, as it was a strenuous process last year to implement weekly garbage pickups in the spring.

A motion was passed at a council meeting on Wednesday to have a written report presented to council before garbage pickup changes are made.

“When we do get all the information from the administration, maybe we will say, ‘well, you know, every two weeks might work for this year in a pandemic,'” Ward 9 Coun. Bev Dubois said.

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“But until I get all of that information, I’m not prepared to change anything that we voted on last year.”

In Tuesday’s press release, the city said it decided to have less frequent garbage pickups to reduce staff and help with physical distancing.

Council members agreed, but noted it’s possible to see an increase in residential garbage with more people staying at home.

“With the direction from council, solutions will be found to provide weekly garbage collection and guard the health of the city’s core workforce,” the city said in an updated press release Wednesday evening.

The city said it will provide adjustments to the program as deemed necessary.

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