Blue Blitz – Recycling Audit Education Program
The Blue Bin Blitz program is a recycling education program that is designed to help residents form proper recycling habits and reduce recycling contamination and safety hazards for waste and recycling employees.
The current Blue Bin Blitz will be occurring in randomly selected neighbourhoods from early September until the end of October 2025 for residents with curbside and back lane collections.
What is a blitz?
A blitz is an educational audit program to ensure residents are using their recycling carts and bins correctly.
Educational tags are placed on the handle of each cart with personalized feedback for each single-dwelling household that receives curbside or back lane cart collections.
Why is someone looking in my recycling cart or bins?
The Recycling Ambassadors are looking for contamination in the recycling carts and assessing correct cart placement. This information is to assist the residents in building better recycling habits and to reduce safety hazards for waste and recycling employees. Placing non-recyclable materials in the cart can injure employees, damage equipment, and contaminate clean recycling.
How are neighbourhoods chosen for the audit?
At random. For the current program, we will audit up to 6,500 carts along both back-lane and curbside collection routes.
Curbside & Back Lane Collection - Frequently Asked Questions
My cart was tagged multiple times. Is this a mistake?
No. Your cart will be audited a total of three times. This is to gather data on behaviour changes throughout the program to see if improvements were made.
My cart was missed. What do I do?
Don’t worry! Audits are conducted from 6:00am to 12:00pm, meaning your collection times may be delayed. Your cart will be emptied on your scheduled collection day after the audit is complete up until 4:00pm.
My cart was not emptied and it’s after 4:00pm. Why?
Although uncommon, operators may be instructed not to collect carts if non-approved, high-risk items are identified during the audit. Why? This is because these items pose a significant safety hazard to waste and recycling employees or could damage key machinery.
A note will be written on your tag to identify if a missed collection will occur and will identify the high-risk, non-approved item that will need to be removed from your cart. Your cart will not be collected until your next scheduled collect date. For further details, please contact Loraas Recycle at 306-242-2300.
To find out where to properly dispose of the item after it has been removed from your cart, visit www.saskatoon.ca/wastewizard or download the ‘Saskatoon Waste Wizard’ app and use the Wizard tool.
I received a green tag. Now what?
Green means good! Thank you for recycling properly. Simply, keep up the great work.
If the Recycling Ambassadors left you a note, it’s a friendly reminder or tip to help you recycle even better.
I received an yellow tag and don’t know what to do with the item listed as non-approved.
We recommend using the Saskatoon Waste Wizard app. Download the ‘Saskatoon Waste Wizard’ app or visit saskatoon.ca/wastewizard. Use the Wizard tool to search for where to properly dispose of waste items.
Will I be fined?
No! This is education program with a goal to assist residents understanding what is and is not acceptable in recycling carts and to help with cart placement issues.
Who’s going through my cart?
Our Recycling Ambassadors. Cart recycling audits will be conducted by our contractor. They will always identify themselves to the public and will be wearing yellow high-visibility vests. Politely ask them your recycling questions or give them a friendly wave!
How is data from this program used?
Data collected from this program is used for internal purposes only to make informed decisions on future education campaigns and waste diversion programs to help residents divert waste more efficiently. This program makes a record of:
- If the cart was place at the curbside on collection day,
- If there were non-accepted materials found in the recycling cart,
- Was the cart placed correctly at the curbside.
Is this a breach of my privacy?
No. The City conducted a pre-privacy impact assessment, and no risks to resident privacy were identified. No personal information will be collected or shared during this program.
The Recycling Ambassadors are collecting data on recycling contaminates or cart placement issues to provide individualized education to each household. The Recycling Ambassadors are instructed not to remove contents from the carts or go through personal information. Photography of the cart’s contents may be taken for proof of contamination only.
It is recommended that you shred all confidential documents before placing your cart at the curbside. Shredded paper should be recycled in a clear or clear-coloured bag.
Can I opt out of the audit?
Yes, you can opt out. This is not a mandatory program.
Carts placed in back lanes for collection will be subjected to an audit. To opt out, complete one of the following actions:
- Keep your cart on your property from 6:00am to 12:00pm on your collection day. Advisory: Carts kept on your property are at risk for a missed collection. If audits of your neighbourhood are completed before 12:00pm, collections may occur early. Additional collections for missed carts are not permitted. Your cart will be collected during the next scheduled collection date.
- Contact the City of Saskatoon - Customer Service Centre and advise the representative that you would like to opt out of the ‘Blue Bin Blitz’ recycling audits.
- Advise our Recycling Ambassador team that you would like to opt out of the program.
Reminder, that verbal abuse will not be tolerated.
What do I do with the tag(s) afterwards?
The back of the tag serves a secondary purpose and may be used as a guide to help your household recycle. Hang it on your fridge or beside your recycling bins! If not, they are 100% paper and can be recycled.
For further information about this program, you can find out more about the City’s recycling and waste diversion programs at saskatoon.ca/recycling.
For other concerns, please contact Service Saskatoon Customer Care Centre at (306) 975-2476.