Waste & Recycling Workers Week

When you throw out your garbage, recycling or organics, do you ever stop to think about the journey it’s about to take? Do you think about how many hands come in contact with these materials on a daily basis? You might be done with it, but for some people, it’s just the beginning. It takes an impressive team of professionals to ensure our City of over 300,000 people can be confident that their waste is managed in a safe and responsible manner. It’s no easy task under normal circumstances, and certainly not during a pandemic.  

Every year, the week of June 17 is Waste & Recycling Workers Week and we recognizing our amazing staff and partners of the solid waste industry. We send a big shout out to:

• our Containers and Collections crews who ensure the safe storage and smooth retrieval of your waste;
• our Environmental Protection Officers who educate and keep the peace on a variety of waste issues;
• our Landfill crews who are entrusted to responsibly manage waste every day;
• our Landfill Gas facility crew who are literally converting waste into electricity;
• our Compost Depots and Recycling Operations crews who see to it that our ‘waste’ isn’t all going to waste;
• our partners from Sustainability who are responsible for waste diversion strategies, public engagement, program implementation and education;
• our external partners from Loraas Recycle, Cosmopolitan Industries, SWRC, GFL Environmental, SARCAN, SARRC, BCBC and more;
• and all the other amazing administrative and support staff who keep the wheels turning every day.

All of these teams are incredibly valuable to the City and its residents, so next time you come across these Waste Warriors in your neighbourhood, take the time to thank them for keeping Saskatoon healthy, vibrant and clean.