#yxetalkstrash - Residents Invited to Participate in 30 Day Waste Challenge

The 30 Day Waste Challenge for Saskatoon residents kicks-off today. Residents are encouraged to sign-up at saskatoon.ca/wastediversion to receive a weekly challenge focused on waste diversion.  After pledging to waste less, and as challenges are completed, participants can share their waste diversion stories on social media using the hashtag #yxetalkstrash.

“City Council has set the goal of diverting 70% of waste from our landfill by 2023,” says Councillor Sarina Gersher, the co-lead for City Council in the priority area of Environmental Sustainability. "The community benefits of decreasing the amount of waste we send to our landfill are substantial, as this can result in significant financial savings and have many positive environmental impacts. This campaign is a way of showing that everyone in Saskatoon can help to make a difference in this important work."

“There are three goals for this campaign,” says Brenda Wallace, Director of Environmental and Corporate Initiatives. “First, we know many of our residents are already diverting significant amounts of their waste through recycling and composting. We encourage those people to share their stories to serve as a positive example for others. Second, we are asking residents to expand their knowledge about how we can keep valuable resources out of the landfill.  Third, and most importantly, we want people to have fun!  Often the community conversation about waste is very sombre and full of numbers.  This challenge is about having some fun with our friends, neighbours and colleagues.”

Wallace says the 2016 Waste Characterization Study found the average household sets out 16 kg of garbage each week, equating to almost 100,000 tonnes of waste being landfilled each year. Of this approximately 10 per cent could have been recycled through the blue cart program, and 58 per cent is food and yard waste. It is estimated that over 75 per cent could be diverted with the right programs and increased participation rates.

“The first challenge to the community is to ‘Trash Less and Recycle More’,” says Wallace. “We’re asking residents to recycle something new or unique by tossing it in your blue bin/cart. It could be aluminum foil, or even a pizza box. Take of photo or video of the item in or in front of your recycle bin and post it on social media using the hashtag #yxetalkstrash.”

More information on the 30 Day Waste Challenge and City’s plans for waste diversion can be found on saskatoon.ca/wastediversion.  

The community target of diverting 70 per cent of our waste from the landfill means that 70 per cent of waste in Saskatoon will be reused, recycled or composted. In 2016, 22 per cent of waste was being diverted through programs such as the single and multi-unit residential recycling programs. This is the second lowest diversion rate when benchmarked against other Canadian cities.

The Waste Diversion Plan supports the Strategic Goal of Environmental Leadership. It includes the four-year priority to promote and facilitate city-wide composting and recycling and the long-term strategy to eliminate the need for a new landfill. It also supports the Strategic Goal of Asset and Financial Sustainability by reducing reliance on residential property taxes and setting long term sustainable rates.