City of Saskatoon recommends city-owned pickup in upcoming curbside organics program
Curbside organics program set to roll out in 2023, plan would alternate between black and green bin pickup
Saskatoon city councillors will be taking a look at how compostable material will be collected in the city's upcoming curbside organics program.
The program, which will collect organic waste from Saskatoon homes, is expected to begin in 2023. While the city has selected a company to run the program (Green Prairie Environmental Ltd.), it has not made a decision on how the waste will be collected.
On Monday, councillors on the city's Governance and Priorities committee will be presented with three waste collection options: to have city-owned trucks pick up the curbside organics cart, to outsource the program to a private company for a fixed term or divide collection between private and publicly-owned trucks.
In a report headed to councillors, administration is recommending that city-owned trucks be used in the curbside program. The report says this option will be cheaper for the city and would allow the city to better control the flow of trucks picking up garbage.
Under the city-owned plan, trucks would alternate between collecting black garbage bins one week and green compost bins on alternating weeks throughout the year.
The report estimates the cost of collection will be between $3 to $3.3 million per year if the city is selected, while private collection could cost as much as $4.5 million per year. The city estimates a split public/private option would be even more expensive.
"Because the new service level effectively extends the current summer service frequency provided by the city, the existing fleet of city collections trucks is sufficient to perform both organics and garbage collection on a bi-weekly basis resulting in no need for additional equipment," read the report.
"The city would also see increased efficiencies by utilizing the entire garbage collection fleet year-round and potential savings by coordinating the two programs."
In September 2020, city council selected Green Prairie Environmental Ltd. as the company that would process the organic waste.
Council agreed to pay Green Prairie $12.7 million over seven years, or $1.81 million per year in the contract. According to the city's website, people will be able to place lawn clippings in their green bins, as well as food waste like bread, meat, napkins and used cooking oil.
The city also provided councillors with an update on its current green bin program, which made $40,000 last year.
The issue will go before the city's Governance and Priorities meeting on Monday morning.