Saskatoon councillors express concerns, questions about proposed pay-as-you-throw garbage program

City councillors in Saskatoon are mulling over proposed major changes to the city's garbage collection system.

On Monday, councillors on the city's Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services committee voted to bring the new pay-as-you-throw system forward for a vote at city council.

The new system would charge homeowners a flat rate for garbage and recycling services based on the size of garbage bin they use and the amount of garbage they generate, rather than have people pay through their property taxes. It would also introduce a mandatory curbside composting program designed to divert more garbage from the landfill.

People would be charged a flat rate depending on the size of bin they ask for, and the amount of garbage they generate. Property tax would then drop by about 3.5 per cent.

Charges are expected to average around $20 per month per household. Councillor Troy Davies said he worries about the cost to taxpayers.

"Our slogan is Saskatoon Shines," he told the committee. "I do not want to get to the point where we say Saskatoon Shines, but you can't afford to live here."

Davies said the current plan has too much uncertainty to support. There are many details of the plan that have not been decided, along with three different pricing schemes for homeowners.

He wants to see a larger debate brought up during budget deliberations.

"We can look at numbers and make the right decision and make that call," he said. "If the majority of council wants to go this way, that's the way it is."

Others on council said maintaining the status quo could prove to be more expensive than shifting to the new system. The city's landfill is quickly filling up and a replacement would likely cost well over $150 million.

 "Worst case scenario would be Edmonton," said Mayor Charlie Clark. "We're talking about a $20 a month charge. In Edmonton, they're paying $45 a month, because they had to close their landfill down and they had to drive their waste a much further distance."

The mayor said the new system would be more fair to businesses and landlords, who will no longer subsidize the program with their property taxes.

"We've not been transparent or fair in the way we've been handling waste collection and allocating the cost to that in the city," he said.
 
Under the current system, the current landfill is expected to last 40 more years. The new system could extend the landfill's life to 63 more years.

Ability to pay

Meanwhile, some expressed concern about taxpayers on fixed incomes who may not be able to pay the new rate.

"While the report suggests, and lays out some justification to suggest this isn't a super considerable amount, and shouldn't provide serious affordability barriers, it's not what I hear from residents," said Councillor Hillary Gough.

Administration said it wants to continue to create an incentive for generating less garbage.

"We don't want to end up working at cross purposes with why we entered a pay-as-you-throw in the first place, which is to help people address their own behaviour," said Brenda Wallace, director of environmental and corporate initiatives. "What we have spent more of our time on is making sure that the cost and the affordability generally is correct, and that it is as low a cost as possible."

In a separate matter, councillors voted in favour of setting up a glass recycling program with SARCAN, where people can take their beverage containers as well as glass bottles to the recycling depots. According to city workers, 90 per cent of glass in the curbside recycling process is broken, leaving it unable to be recycled.