City Council chooses variable rate waste utility & property tax funded organics program for curbside single-family households

In addition to a new city-wide organics program, single-family households with curbside collection service will now have a choice in the size and cost of their waste carts. City Council voted in favour of implementing a variable rate waste utility. The previously approved city-wide organics program will be funded from property tax. Both programs are expected to launch in 2020.

“This is an important step forward for our City on our journey toward trying to achieve 70 per cent waste diversion, so we are pleased with Council’s decision,” says Dan Willems, Acting General Manager of Corporate Performance. “This is a very complex matter with many variables, so the decision to implement variable cart sizes for waste in addition to a city-wide organics program demonstrates City Council’s commitment to its strategic goal of Environmental Leadership.”

The variable rate waste utility will give residents the option of three cart sizes and is expected to incentivize residents to reduce the amount of garbage they generate by wasting less and diverting more through composting and recycling. The variable rate and three cart sizes will provide curbside residents more control over their waste costs.   

“These improvements to waste management will help us move closer to our waste diversion goals, and significantly delay the need for us to plan for a new landfill, estimated at $120M,” Willems says.

More details on the implementation plan and program costs will be presented in 2019.

The complete agenda from the November 19 City Council meeting can be found here.

For more information about the City’s waste diversion plan, visit saskatoon.ca/wastediversion.