Neck guard sales jump after Sask. hockey player slashed by skate
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More adult players are now investing in the protective equipment.
The City of Saskatoon on Thursday rolled out its new garbage utility fees.
Starting in January, residents of the Bridge City will be able to choose between three different sizes of garbage bins.
The smallest one is 120 to 135 litres (which will cost $3.73 monthly), the medium-sized bin will be 240L ($7.05) and the largest bin will be 360L ($10.58). The large bin is what residents currently have.
A flat fee of $9.92 will be charged to all residents with curbside pickup until cart swaps are completed. Residents can begin requesting smaller bins in early January with delivery expected sometime in the spring.
Brendan Lemke, Saskatoon’s director of water and waste operations, said the city understands the first year will involve families figuring out what size of bin is best for them.
“In 2024, we don’t intend to charge any fees associated with the cart exchanges (but) we will limit how many times we change bins,” said Lemke. “In 2025, there will be a $30 fee that we are proposing for cart exchange.”
The fees are being removed from a household’s property tax and are being added on to a monthly utility bill instead.
“The cost of the program is the same but the cost will go up for a per-family basis,” said Lemke.
Lemke said for the most part, the city has had a lot of good feedback on the project.
“We had a lot of people saying ‘Hey, now that I’ve got a green bin, have you thought about giving me a smaller black bin?’ and we were like, ‘Yeah, we actually have and it’s coming,’ ” Lemke said.
“You have the this ability to control your waste, have smaller carts and to have an opportunity to get rewarded for producing less waste.”
People who are renting are going to have to rely on their landlords to pick the garbage bin size. Some of those individuals have told the city they’re worried that their landlord may go the cheap route and use the smallest bin size.
“We are looking at bylaw changes that allow us to make sure that we can enforce under the Cities Act there is a requirement for proper amount of waste disposal for all properties,” said Lemke.
There is also a low-income waste utility subsidy that will provide low-income families with $100 a year, which is roughly what it would cost to have a medium bin.
The hope is to put the strategy into effect by the spring after the snow melts.
The proposed plan is heading to city committee on Tuesday.