Some in Saskatoon 'flat out' refusing delivery of city's new green waste bins
Some Saskatoon residents have been refusing to accept the green carts when they’re delivered by the city, but that won’t save them from a monthly fee.
During Wednesday’s city council meeting, Ward 9 Councillor Bev Dubois raised the issue with the general manager utilities and environment division, Angela Gardiner. Dubois said she had been hearing from residents who don’t want to participate in the program.
“There have been some situations where the resident is home when the bin is delivered. And they have flat out refused the cart,” Gardiner told council.
“We're not going to force it on people and we will take it or leave it in the truck or put it back in the truck. But we do try to encourage people to, you know, give it a chance, try it out.”
Gardiner also said the green cart program fee was mandatory whether residents participate or not.
“It's a mandatory fee that will be on the utility bill, so even if they don't want to participate in the program, they still will be charged for that so that is for primarily for single-family homes.”
Dubois also raised the question about charges for townhomes and condos.
“We have made provisions and council provided direction for smaller bin sizes. But we're also hearing that in some cases they just don't need that many carts. They still want to participate, but they don't have the space,” Gardiner said. “We're working through those on a case-by-case basis and reviewing the specific situations.”
“So there is a possibility that they could have less carts, but each person would still pay the $6.73 a month regardless of how many carts they have,” Dubois asked.
“Yes, that's correct,” Gardiner responded.
During the meeting, Gardiner defended the program and said the city was giving it a trial run for the next few months.
“We want people to go through this first kind of season through the summer, get a feel for it and whatnot. And then we will be developing a program for people who continue to not want the cart.”
She said the program could reduce over 50 per cent of waste currently discarded in the black bins.
“Really at the end of the day, the issue of waste diversion is a community issue that we all need to work through.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
BREAKING Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.