The City of Saskatoon is looking to divert 70 per cent of its waste from the landfill and to help reach this goal, it’s implementing various residential programs.
One of these programs is the Variable Black Cart Garbage Utility Model which highlights two options.
Option one shows three different bin sizes including a 360 litre, 240 litre and a smaller option, but option one would require small modifications to all collection trucks.
The other options include only 360 litre and 240 litre cart sizes, excluding the smaller option.
According to city administration, the three-cart system better promotes waste reduction and diversion.
“Residents would be more incentivized to pay that smaller fee, have that smaller cart, and really pay more attention to what waste they are throwing into their black cart,” said Brock Storey, City of Saskatoon environmental operations manager.
He isn’t the only one who believes option one will work. Joanne Fedyk is the executive director at the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council, and she said the bigger the garbage cart, the more people will throw away.
“If you have a smaller one then when you have big things that you don’t really belong in the garbage can, you’re not going to try and force them in there, you’re going to find a way to take care of them in a better way, like recycle them or divert them,” said Fedyk.
With either option, residents will be able to choose a bin size fitting for their home and garbage collection would take place bi-weekly.
If the committee approves one of the options, it would then be sent to city council for approval.