Since the application window opened up last Monday, the City of Saskatoon has received more than 35-hundred requests from residents seeking smaller garbage carts.

Director of Water and Waste Operations Brendan Lemke says you can avoid call wait times by applying for a new cart size online.

Funding black cart garbage service is now generated through a utility charge not your property tax. As such for the first six months of the year the charge for carts regardless of size is $9.92 a month.

The cart sizes include the current large (360L) as well as a medium (240L) and a small (120L) black cart.

The City of Saskatoon says communities that use similar approaches have seen their waste diversion rates improve by 5-17 per cent, as residents increase their use of diversion programs and find new ways to generate less waste. The first cart swap request window will be open until March 1.

Cart swaps will be completed April through June corresponding with collection schedules. There will be another intake for cart swap requests this fall.