YORKTON - Yorkton will move forward with a Residential Organics Green Cart Collection Program following an unanimous decision of Yorkton Council at its regular meeting Monday.
Public Works are continually evaluating the programs and services they offer and Solid Waste Management is one of those services, said Aron Hershmiller – Director of Public Works with the city in his presentation Monday.
“As part of this evaluation a trend in landfill tonnage volumes has been observed. From 2011 to 2023 the city identified a 54 per cent increase of in-city refuse during the months of May to October relative to the rest of the year. During the summer of 2022 multiple waste audits were completed of in-city refuse and found that organic material (yard and food waste) made up 52 per cent of the total refuse by weight,” he explained.
This trend is of concern for three main reasons:
* The material is taking up valuable space in our current landfill cell, with a replacement value of approximately $6 million dollars.
* Methane is produced when organic materials decompose in a landfill. Without oxygen, decomposition happens anaerobically which means that methane is produced. Methane is a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide and contributes to climate change.
* With proper management, organics can be turned into compost which is a usable product.
As a result, a residential refuse survey was conducted in the spring of 2021 with questions pertaining to the idea of having a residential organics collection program.
Of the 273 respondents, 64 per cent voted in favor of an organics collection program with an additional 26 per cent responding ‘maybe depending on cost’, for a total of 90 per cent of survey respondents interested in a program, said Hershmiller.
During the summer of 2023 a curbside organics pilot project was completed within the City in two different collection zones.
“The program was well received with 407 residents diverting 94.3 tonnes of organic material. At the conclusion of the pilot project a survey was conducted with all participants in which 65 per cent of the 119 respondents were in support of a seasonal organics program with another 28 per cent stating ‘maybe depending on cost’ totalling 93 per cent support,” said Hershmiller.
Since the announcement of the curbside organics pilot program in 2023 all inquiries pertaining to organics have been tracked; 78 per cent of the 29 inquiries were in favor of a curbside organics program.
“During the duration of the 2023 pilot project a total of 407 residence contributed 94.30 tonnes of organic material over a 29 week collection period. Assuming 83 per cent of this was yard waste, it is estimated that 78.3 tonnes of this was yard waste. This averages out to .192 tonnes of organics from each household during the course of the pilot project,” detailed Hershmiller.
Currently six Saskatchewan communities with populations of more than 4,500 have dedicated organics programs.
“We are proposing the introduction of a new seasonal curbside organics collection program for all residential dwellings for the spring of 2025; totalling 5580 1-2 unit households,” offered Hershmiller. “. . . This Green Cart program will work to further divert incoming yard organics, slowing the filling of the landfill cell. Yard organics consist of grass, leaves and garden waste, no tree branches, but as a reminder, tree branches are accepted at the landfill.”
Grass, leaves, and garden waste have been, and will continue to be accepted at the landfill at no cost but to further service Yorkton’s residents and to increase diversion rates we are proposing this residential organics green cart collection program.
The new service will be seasonal in nature with curbside yard waste collection from the second week of April to the first week of November annually.
Accepted products:
* Grass Clippings, Leaves, and Garden organics
* Compostable bags will be allowed
* Excludes: food waste, dog feces, tree branches, diapers, refuse including plastic bags.
The estimated cost to purchase the carts will be approximately $600,000.
The cost for the program per household will be $3/month or $36/year.
