REGINA - At their executive committee meeting on Wednesday, Regina council voted in favor of the curbside waste services funding policy presented by administration.
The policy passed unanimously, which means it now goes to the full City Council for final approval at next week’s council meeting. Included in the recommendation that passed Wednesday was a user fee for all curbside waste services - recycling, food and yard waste, and garbage - based on garbage cart size with two garbage cart size options.
This is considered a key change as it would move garbage collection to user pay instead of a tax collection model. It also coincides with the city’s plans to bring in green food and yard waste carts in September of 2023.
Also approved in the recommendation was setting the Curbside Waste Services Fee at $0.53/day or $193.45/year for a 240L garbage cart, and $0.78/day or $284.70/year for a 360L garbage cart which includes the costs associated with collection and processing for the 240L food and yard waste cart and the 360L recycling cart.
“The smaller the cart, the smaller the user fee will be,” said Kim Onrait, Executive Director of City Services, in the reporters’ scrum following the meeting. The fee will take effect Jan. 1, 2024, so there will be a “grace period” of four months before it comes in that will be funded out of city reserves.
For recycling, Onrait said cart size doesn’t change and what goes into the cart doesn’t change, and that is currently user based funded.
The resolution also authorizes the City Manager, or designate, to implement a Waste Utility Rebate Program for senior citizens or people living with disabilities. It also directs the City Solicitor to prepare the necessary bylaw amendments to The Waste Management Bylaw, 2012, which include amendments to allow a standard daily rebate of $0.15 and an increased daily rebate of $0.30 where annual household income is less than or equal to half of the eligibility threshold, to be applied to the waste utility charges for applicants that meet the eligibility requirements.
The change is being made by the city to motivate waste reduction and waste reduction behaviours, and to help extend the life of the landfill and the major expense that would be associated with replacement.
Onrait told the committee the waste diversion rate had remained static at 20 per cent since 2015. “Implementing the food and yard waste service in 2023 will help us move closer to the 65 per cent goal set by council.”
He told the Committee that implementing full user fees and allowing residents to control their costs “will improve waste diversion and help us achieve our diversion goals.” He also said it meant
businesses and condominiums that do not receive waste management service from the city will not pay for the service to the property taxes, as all costs will be funded by user fees.
He noted many communities have moved to a user model, pointing to Saskatoon moving to a solid waste utility model. Other communities moving to user fee models for garbage cart size include Prince Albert, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Edmonton, Portland and Minneapolis.
