Saskatoon City administration recommended that the current list of acceptable items, minus black plastics and polycoat, the material used for coffee cups, be approved and that the city continue the Glass Recycling Partnership with SARCAN. Last year plastic bags and clear filmy plastic were also taken off the list of acceptable items for the recycle bin.

Currently, the city is in negotiations with the company that had the best proposal from the RFP that was issued earlier this year. The city hasn’t publicly announced the name of that company. The contract with Loraas Recycling expires at the end of this year and a new contract is needed to continue service for 2020 and beyond.

With the recommendations, the estimated rates for 2020, pending negotiations are between $7 dollars and $7.50 a household. Currently residents pay $5.66 a month so the proposal is a 24% to 33% increase. The city report cites a changing global recycling market and the higher costs of processing as the reason for the increase.

Councillor Mairin Loewen also put forward a recommendation that report be presented to the appropriate committee with information on the structure of the new program, the reasoning behind any changes, the communication plan for the new program and how the success of the program will be measured.

The recommendations from administration approved by the committee have yet to be approved at City Council.