Saskatoon won’t hit the goal of diverting 70 per cent of the waste from the city landfill by 2023, but a new plan will be presented to the Environment Committee on Monday which estimates reaching 41 to 54 per cent diversion.

Director of Sustainability, Jeanna South, says right now we are only at 24 per cent, but the goal can be reached through developing Recovery Park at the landfill, adding economic incentives to the curbside organics program, and bringing the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional recycling and organics programs to fruition.

She adds multi-unit homes have a recycling program but the organics program hasn’t happened yet, so that is another piece of the puzzle.  In the future, she expects there will be discussions about bans of certain materials from the landfill if there are programs in place to divert them elsewhere. South explains that over 70 per cent of what goes into the City’s landfill could be diverted. She stresses that education and awareness will be a priority, depending on the plan’s approval by Council.

If approved, the ICI recycling program is expected to begin this year and the organics program  next year. The construction of Recovery Park at the Saskatoon landfill began last year.
South says it will be a one-stop recycling and waste facility where you can take your recyclables, hazardous waste, construction waste and other materials.

Click here for more detail: Saskatoon waste diversion facts