You can choose the size of black cart you want, right now. Applications opened up at the beginning of this week for those wanting to size down their black cart – or garbage cart. Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark says, “You can now go and make a request for what size of garbage bin you want. There are the three sizes, the small, the medium and the large. And the window is now open until March 1st for residents to be able to request a different size.”

There will be another opportunity to swap your cart in the fall. The City of Saskatoon says the flat fee remains in effect at $9.92 per month will be in place from January to June 2024 for all households with roll-out black cart garbage services until cart swaps are completed city-wide mid-year to ensure equity and fairness in the program.

Saskatoon City Council voted in moving the cost of garbage and recycling pick up from your property tax to a utility, in the wake of the roll out of the mandatory organics program. And in conjunction with that, Council implemented variable bin sizes for garbage. There are three bin sizes which will become available with the largest being the current 360-litre bin, a medium size bin at 240 litres and the third – and smallest bin – is 120 litres. It’s going to cost over $4 million dollars to purchase the two new bin sizes.

Once the first six months and fixed rate come to an end for everyone with the curbside black cart program, the small bin fee will be $3.73 a month, with the medium bin at $7.05 and a large bin, which is the size of the current bins, at $10.58 a month.