Engage
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If you are a multi-unit resident (apartments and condos), please visit: saskatoon.ca/yxetalkstrash-multiunit
We’ve Talked Trash
To help us achieve the goal of 70% waste diversion by 2023, the City is redesigning Residential Curbside Collections for single family homes. Over 5,000 residents talked trash between February 12 and March 6, 2018. The engagement included an online survey, pop-up events, community workshops, and an accessible waste collection workshop. What we heard from the engagement will directly inform the recommendations for a redesigned curbside waste collection system.
Curbside Engagement Results
On June 25, 2018 the Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services brought forward engagement results to City Council as information in support of the Recommended Changes to Waste Management in Saskatoon report.
Please click below for a short summary of What We Heard. You can also read the full summary documents:
- Online Survey Summary
- Workshop Summaries: includes Community Workshops, Accessible Waste Collection Workshop, and Sensemaking Sessions
- Pop-Up Events Summary
- 2017 Waste Awareness & Behaviour Survey: statistically reliable survey conducted in 2017, which provides useful context. See pages 21, 27, 34-35, 43-45, 51-53, and 56-61 for particularly relevant information.
What We Heard
Residents and stakeholders shared many ideas for improving curbside collection and increasing waste diversion. Below is a short summary of what the City heard about the three main waste streams; further detail can be found in the attachments.
Garbage
A small majority (approximately 60%) of residents who participated in engagement activities demonstrated support for a Pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) approach based on cart size and/or collection frequency (not by weight). A vocal minority (about 30%) expressed strong opposition, while a third group were uncertain or had further questions.
Supportive residents were interested in PAYT for three main reasons: the diversion incentive, opportunity for individual cost control, and higher standard of accountability for all residents. Many participants expressed interest in choosing their cart size.
Residents (both supportive and opposed) were very concerned about the potential for PAYT to cause illegal dumping in their carts and in the alleys, ditches, and surrounding areas. The second highest concern was that a utility would be “double-dipping” or a “tax grab”, on top of property taxes. Other frequently cited concerns included: affordability, fairness (larger families, medical waste, secondary suites, and tenants), variable waste volumes, contamination risk, and preference for waste to remain on the mill rate.
A large number of residents expressed a preference for moving to bi-weekly garbage collection all year, once the organics program is introduced.
Organics
Over 80% of participants expressed clear support for a City-Wide Organics Program. Those who were opposed to the program primarily disliked the additional cost and cart, or were existing backyard composters who disliked mandatory collection.
The majority of participants preferred co-mingled (food and yard waste together) collection in a single green cart. This was primarily due to greater convenience and in order to have sufficient capacity for grass, leaves, branches, and garden waste. Participants were not in favour of approaches that required yard waste to be bagged. About half of residents engaged suggested an interest in weekly collection, depending on the cart capacity and the season. Many suggested a schedule of weekly collection from spring to fall and biweekly in the winter.
The top five concerns about the Organics Program are: cleanliness, convenience, program cost, finding space for a third cart, and fairness (for those with backyard composters, small yards, townhouses, or limited food waste).
Recycling
Many participant comments indicated an interest in weekly collection when asked what could improve about their current service level. However, a large majority of respondents preferred to maintain large carts collected bi-weekly when they were presented with a weekly collection scenario.
For further context, in the 2017 Waste Awareness and Behaviour Survey conducted by Insightrix Research, 94% of respondents were somewhat or very satisfied with the cart capacity, and 92% were somewhat or very satisfied with the frequency of collection.
Completed Curbside Engagement
Online Survey
The online survey was conducted between February 12 and March 4, 2018.
Recommended Changes to Waste Management in Saskatoon
On June 25, 2018 City Council approved the recommendations brought forward by the Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services. Recommendations include:
- the development of a Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) waste utility where fees will be based on cart size (lower prices for smaller carts);
- the development of a city-wide organics program featuring a single green cart for co-mingled food and yard waste; and
- no changes to the existing recycling program.
View the full report here: Recommended Changes to Waste Management in Saskatoon
More details on these programs will be brought forward in September 2018.
Report Highlights
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A Pay as You Throw (PAYT) utility based on cart size variability is expected to incentivise residents to reduce the amount of garbage they generate by wasting less and diverting more (through composting and recycling), as well as giving residents control over their costs.
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Implementing PAYT using variable cart sizes was determined to be the most intuitive solution, and therefore, most likely to be adopted by residents. It is also simple to implement from an operational perspective and can be completed within the timelines identified.
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A mandatory, co-mingled green cart for year-round collection of food and yard waste provides the highest waste diversion potential (estimated at 26,000 tonnes). It is anticipated that resident use of the cart will have high adoption, as it is easy to use (no separation of food and yard waste) and understand. It also provides adequate capacity for all property types.
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Implementing organics and PAYT together will ensure residents have control over their costs by providing residents with opportunities to divert organic waste and choose a smaller garbage cart for a lower fee.
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Customer satisfaction with the existing recycling service is very high (over 90% satisfaction rate), and changes are unlikely to result in increased diversion or satisfaction.
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Administration intends to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) in Summer 2018 to establish the organics processing capacity required by a city-wide program. Further information about this aspect of the program will be provided in a report to Committee in advance of a recommended award.
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The Administration continues to consider program implications associated with ability-to-pay, special service options for those with mobility challenges, home composters or those with minimal yard waste, and small properties. Reports on these topics will be provided beginning in September.
Pay-as-You-Throw (PAYT)
A PAYT utility based on cart size variability is expected to incentivise residents to reduce the amount of garbage they generate by wasting less and diverting more (through composting and recycling), as well as giving residents control over their costs.
For more information on PAYT, please see the Fact Sheet.
Organics Program
A mandatory, co-mingled green cart for year-round collection of food and yard waste provides the highest waste diversion potential (estimated at 26,000 tonnes). It is anticipated that resident use of the cart will have high adoption, as it is easy to use (no separation of food and yard waste) and understand. It also provides adequate capacity for all property types.
For information on Organics, please see the Fact Sheet.