SASKATOON -- The City of Saskatoon will switch to weekly residential garbage collection starting May 18.

Residents will see no change in their collection day, only the date that weekly collection begins, the city said in a news release.

The city asks residents to practice safe and sanitary waste disposal and ensure proper cart placement to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Weekly collections will remain in effect until the end of September.

Initially, on April 14, city administration said the annual switch to weekly black cart pickup, which typically begins in May, would be suspended indefinitely in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The next day, City Council voted to overrule the decision, with some councillors feeling that council should have been approached before a decision was made to reduce service levels.

Council later agreed to again postpone the switch to weekly pickup — but only by two weeks – in order to save $25,000.

Blue cart pickup remains on a bi-weekly schedule throughout the year.