Saskatoon city hall will delve into future of curbside garbage, organics collection
Saskatoon city councillors and the mayor are expected to debate options on the future of the city’s curbside garbage collection and the implementation of a curbside organics rollout, scheduled for January 2023.
In a report to the governance and priorities committee meeting on Monday, all members of city council will have the opportunity to weigh-in on the future of waste-handling in Saskatoon.
The city’s administration is presenting two options; the first option is looking at black cart and organics collection be charged to customers as a utility with a monthly flat-rate, not funded through property taxes.
The second option would look at charging customers a variable rate for garbage collection, based on how much is thrown out in the black cart, and a fixed monthly cost for organics collection.
According to the report, if both garbage and organics programs roll out as expected in January 2023, residents may be burdened with the introduction of both programs and the monthly-fee attached to both.
The report shows the monthly curbside waste services cost as a utility for curbside customers would be $22.70 per month for both the curbside organics and the black bin programs, as well as the existing recycling program.
The black cart monthly fee is proposed at $8.50 per month while the organics program would see customers paying $6.73 per month. At the time of implementation, the city’s recycling program is expected to be $7.47 per month.
"For most curbside residents, costs will increase in 2023, but accountability and transparency do not increase as users are given no additional control over their costs," the report states.
Compared to other jurisdictions in western Canada, Saskatoon’s monthly household cost for a waste utility would be on the low end of the spectrum, according to the report.
In 2022, it is estimated that option one will reduce the mill rate by 0.91 per cent which represents the removal of the previously approved 0.87 per cent phase-in, and its related adjustments.
In 2023, it is estimated that this option will reduce the mill rate by 4.18 per cent which represents the full costs of curbside garbage and curbside organics programs and includes removal of all previously approved mill rate phase-ins that were allocated to garbage collections and landfill operation, the city said.
Option two would see garbage-collection covered by property taxes until January 2024, but the organics program would be funded through a monthly fee, $6.73.
After January 2024 and the launch of the curbside garbage utility, residents will be able to clearly identify the relationship between their consumption and their utility fees and be given the opportunity to control their costs, the city said in its report.
As of now, the city has not settled on a model to determine how much it would charge for garbage collection.
This option would provide a significant favourable mill rate impact in 2024 by transitioning curbside garbage from the mill rate and onto a utility, according to the city. Until a variable pricing model is approved, and the 2024 base mill rate is established, this mill rate impact cannot be calculated precisely, the city said.
City councillors and the mayor will review these options Monday morning.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.