Bin there, done with that: residents can return unwanted green carts this fall

For those who don’t want the green carts the City of Saskatoon has been rolling out to residents as part of its new, mandatory composting program, there’s good news and bad news.

The good news is Saskatoon residents will be able to opt out of the program, but people will have to stick with the program at least through the summer before returning the carts becomes an option.

Brendan Lemke, director of water and waste operations with the city, said he’s encouraging people to give the new carts a real try before making a decision.

“At this point, we’re encouraging them to hang on and try them out,” Lemke told media at city hall on Friday.

He said other municipalities that have tried similar programs also experienced growing pains, and suggested that sometimes it just takes time for people to become accustomed to such a large change.

Come the fall, Lemke said people who still don’t want to participate in the program will be able to request a review, and the city will send out an environmental protection officer to take a look and make sure the right waste services are being provided.

“Then we can look at taking back some of those green carts, if there’s more than are needed,” Lemke explained.

He said the city has heard from a number of people expressing frustrations with the third cart being added to their arsenal of waste disposal bins. Residents have been sharing space concerns and frustrations over the program being mandatory and its costs, particularly when many people are already composting on their own.

Those that do opt out of the carts in the fall won’t be opting out of fees. Lemke said those who simply do not want to take part will still pay the extra utility cost every month – $6.73.

“If that’s all it is, you’re still going to get charged. You’re still going to be part of the cost of running this,” he said.

While some residents were refusing to accept the carts when they were delivered, the city is not going to engage in conflicts or impose penalties over the cart drop-off process, Lemke shared. He said the hope is for positive peer pressure to encourage Saskatoon residents to come together as a community to help divert waste from the landfill.

Lemke acknowledged that there will be some circumstances where a cart is legitimately unnecessary, and the city will determine those situations case by case when the time comes.

Deployment of the green carts is well underway, Lemke said.

About 60 per cent of eligible households have received their green carts already, he said, and those that don’t have a cart yet will see it soon.

So far, 32,000 carts and 8,000 kitchen pails have been delivered, with only 120 carts outright refused, Lemke shared.

Brendan Lemke from @cityofsaskatoon demonstrates how to properly use the compostable bin liners. @CKOMNews #yxe #greencarts pic.twitter.com/CwIhEiznFj

— Dulce Maria Ann (@mxdabela) April 14, 2023

He said the number of carts refused was on par with what the city experienced when rolling out its blue cart program for recycling.

Lemke estimated about 13,000 people already had a cart from the city’s previous composting program.

About nine separate crews are working on the cart deliveries and 99 per cent have gone off without a hitch, Lemke said, despite the roll-out process taking longer than expected due to lingering snow, ice and cold weather.

Issues the city has had with the delivery of carts so far have consisted of incorrectly-sized bins being delivered, issues with the compostable paper linings for kitchen pails, and residents concerned about warped lids. One resident also informed the city they were upset they didn’t receive their free kitchen magnet when their cart was delivered.

Lemke reminded residents that garbage collection has changed to a permanent biweekly pick-up schedule, so black bins may be a bit more full than normal. He noted, however, that most waste that previously went in the black bin can now be diverted to the green bins, which will also be picked up biweekly.

Fees will be added to utility bills starting May 1, coinciding with collection beginning, Lemke said. Any households that have not received a bin at that point will not be charged until they receive the bin.