The Director of Water and Waste Operations with the City of Saskatoon estimates that 99 per cent of the people who are receiving the green bins for their organics have had no issues and needed no follow-up. Brendan Lemke says what they hear about most though, from those that do contact the city, are concerns around having space for what will now be three bins. He says it is a problem in particular for homes that have extra suites and for the townhomes included in this roll out, which have a smaller area to store the bins. The townhouse bins are a bit smaller.

Not all townhouses are a part of this deployment though. Lemke explains that decisions around where the green cart program would be deployed depends on the zoning for these townhouses. Later this year, a pilot project for the rest of the multi-unit homes will begin, as well as the commercial organics program.

Over half of the green carts for Saskatoon’s city-wide organics program have been delivered. There are about 70,000 in total. Lemke says the deployment of the green bins in Saskatoon has been slower than anticipated, so if you thought you would have had yours by now, don’t worry, it’s coming. The first organics pick ups will be in May.

More information in in the City of Saskatoon news release below:

Green cart deployment is well underway across Saskatoon. All households with black garbage carts and blue recycling carts are receiving a green cart, specifically for food and yard waste, and a kitchen pail starter kit. To date, more than 50% of eligible households have received their carts and kitchen pails.

The third-party contractor responsible for cart deployment has experienced some delays but is increasing crews and workdays to ensure deployment will be completed on time. They have increased from five teams to eight and are now working seven days a week instead of six.

“We have experienced a few setbacks with deployment but with additional resources added by the contractor, we are confident all eligible households will receive their green carts by the end of April,” says Brendan Lemke, Director of Water and Waste Operations. “We would like to reassure residents that they will not be charged for the green cart program before they’ve physically received their cart.”

A monthly average utility fee of $6.73 will appear on City utility bills beginning in May. Households will not incur the organics charge until they have received their carts. The fee covers collection, composting, cart maintenance, education programs and program management.

“We are delivering green carts to all eligible households in the city that currently receive curbside collections to ensure that every eligible household has an opportunity to participate,” Lemke says. “We understand there are instances where, due to space or other constraints, residents of townhouses and properties with secondary suites may want to share carts. We have been hearing from some folks and we do have a process in place if they want to request one or some of their green carts be removed.

A representative from a townhouse complex or an owner of a property with a secondary suite can contact Corporate Revenue Customer Service at 306-975-2400 or revenue@saskatoon.ca to request to have one or some of their green carts removed. Monthly utility fees will still apply to each eligible household even if green carts are removed. The City is focused on successfully completing deployment, ensuring townhomes and secondary suites receive the right size and number of carts, and giving residents time to try out the program for a few months. The majority of single-family residences will not have the opportunity to refuse their green cart until fall.

“Findings from other municipalities show that waste diversion rates increased and requests to opt-out reduced considerably after residents had time to try the new service, so we’d ask that you at least give it a shot this summer,” adds Lemke. “It will also be important to for residents to get used to the new garbage collection schedule. Garbage will now be collected bi-weekly year-round, since more than half of what used to go into the black carts is accepted in the new green cart.”

Green cart collection will begin in May. If your green cart is already full and you have excess yard waste, you can drop it off for free at the City’s two Compost Depots, which are now open for the season. Residents can also pick up one cubic yard of compost or mulch for free while supplies last at the West Compost Depot.  

Later this year the City is launching an organics regulation for businesses and organizations that generate food or yard waste as part of their operations, as well as a pilot project for multi-unit food and yard waste diversion.