Food & Yard Waste Pilot
The City launched a one-year residential Food and Yard Waste Pilot in fall 2020 with approximately 2,800 homes across the community to test, evaluate and revise the service before city-wide roll out.
A food and yard waste service will meet current and future waste disposal needs, extend the life of our Landfill and protect the quality of life of future generations.
View Organic Waste Service Recommendations Approved by City Council on September 24.
Timeline
- 2020 – Launch pilot project – September 21
- 2021 – Recommendation to Council for city-wide implementation
- 2023 – Full city-wide roll out
Pilot Areas
Zoom & click on the areas highlighted in green for more information on the pilot locations.
Green cart pilot showing great results
The first month results are in – pilot participants have increased the residential diversion rate to 51.7 per cent by using their green carts. Almost 96 tonnes of food and yard waste collected!
Pilot participants are being good sorters. Of the material collected, there have been very low amounts of unacceptable items being put in the green carts. The majority of the unacceptable items we are seeing in the green carts are plastic bags and cups.
These early results show that when fully implemented, green carts will help move the City closer to our goal of diverting 65 per cent of residential waste from the landfill.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it important to implement a food and yard waste service?
- Food and yard waste currently make up about 50 per cent of what goes in the average Regina resident’s garbage cart over the course of a year.
- We can only achieve the 65 per cent waste diversion goal set by Council by implementing a food and yard waste service. The City's waste diversion rate has remained static at 20 per cent since 2015.
- This will prolong the life of our landfill and reduce the greenhouse gasses which are produced when food and yard waste are landfilled.
Why is it important to divert food and yard waste from the Landfill?
- Food and yard waste are not garbage. They are a valuable resource which can be turned into nutrient-rich compost
- Landfill space is beneficial for long-term waste management and should only be used for materials that cannot be reused or recycled.
How will the pilot project work?
- We will be testing different cart size combinations (garbage and food and yard waste) in the pilot to see what works best for Regina residents.
- Pilot participants have received a green cart for food and yard waste and a kitchen pail.
- Pilot participants will be asked to put all food waste and yard waste into the green cart and roll the cart out (to the front curb or back alley) on your green cart collection day.
- Green carts will be picked up weekly. Garbage service will be bi-weekly for pilot participants.
How were the pilot areas selected?
- Pilot participants must currently receive City garbage and recycling services.
- The pilot areas include participants from every ward in the City and represent a cross-section of Regina residents. Naturally, the pilot must also include some households with front street collection and some with back alley collection.
My home isn’t in the pilot area, can I still participate?
- Unfortunately, no we are not accepting volunteers for the pilot.
- Neighborhoods were selected systematically to ensure a representative sample of Regina neighborhoods. Factors such as community age, median household income, front street or alley waste collection and tree cover were considered in the selection process.
Why do we need to do a pilot project, instead of implementing city-wide now?
- Curbside food and yard waste service is new to the City of Regina. The pilot project will be used to test the service and identify and address any issues before rollout to the whole city.
- The pilot project will give some residents the opportunity to use the service and provide feedback that may be incorporated into the city-wide service.
What items will be accepted in the food and yard waste service?
- It’s commonly referred to as “scrape the plate,” meaning that all food scraps, including meat, bones, dairy and greases will be accepted. Yard waste and soiled paper (paper towel, cardboard and tissues) will also be accepted.
- Pet waste and diapers are not accepted.
- Plastic bags, including all types of “certified compostable” and “biodegradable” are not accepted.
Why not use bags instead of carts for collection?
- The City made a large investment to transition the garbage service away from bagged collection and towards cart collection.
- Bagged collection required a different collection truck than our current collection fleet.
- Bagged collection requires twice as many staff as cart collection.
- Bagged collection increases the risk on injury to workers caused by repetitive lifting of garbage bags.
- Bags increase the likelihood of leakage and can cause issues with odour and pests.
How will we pay for this new service when it goes city-wide?
- Council will consider recommendations for the ongoing funding of the city-wide food and yard waste service after the pilot and prior to city-wide rollout.
