The City of Regina will be restarting the SortSmart Camera Education Program in Spring 2025. This initiative involves equipping two recycling trucks and one food and yard waste truck with automated AI camera technology. These cameras will capture images of items placed in carts that don’t belong, such as contaminants like plastic bags in the composting cart or non-recyclable materials in the recycling cart. The system then analyzes these images and generates a personalized postcard for residents. The postcard highlights the incorrect items and provides clear guidance on how to sort waste properly. This program is designed to help residents sort smarter, reduce contamination, and improve overall waste diversion in the city.
Did you receive a postcard in the mail?
Avoid Common Recycling and Composting Mistakes
It’s important to only put acceptable items in your green and blue carts. The wrong items can reduce the quality of good recyclables and compostables and damage sorting equipment. Please refer to your mail card to see what items don’t belong in your green or blue cart.
Don’t forget to check the Waste Wizard tool to find out where to put your household waste items. Simply type in the item into the search box and it will tell you which cart or drop-off location.
Will I receive a fine or ticket?
No, the postcards are for educational purposes only and do not come with any fines or tickets!
Waste Wizard
Type the name of a waste item and we'll tell you how to recycle or dispose of it.
Sort the right Stuff
Remember the following:
- Keep organics and recyclables loose in the carts.
- Don’t bag or stack items.
- Rinse your recyclable containers.
- Layer wet or heavy compost.
- Don’t let your carts overflow.
Composting and recycling are worth the effort to protect the environment for future generations and extend the life of our Landfill.
For more information about this program, or if you have a broken cart, submit a Service Request.
Oops! These items don't belong...
2021 Program Summary
From August to October 2021, the City piloted a new automated technology developed by Regina-based Prairie Robotics to check blue carts.
A camera installed on a recycling truck took an image of the blue cart contents when it was emptied and then software tracked items that did not belong. If an unacceptable item was spotted, an “Oops” mailout was delivered to the household regarding the incorrect item(s) with helpful tips.
By checking blue carts, the program hoped to:
- Encourage proper sorting
- Gather information on common mistakes
The 2021 CartSmart education program has successfully wrapped up with an additional 9,875 households receiving sorting feedback thanks to the use of new automated technology. A total of 11,875 households' blue carts were checked over several collection weeks.
Here is a look at the results:
- 22.7% of households sorted their recyclables correctly
- 77.3% of households had unacceptable items in their blue carts, receiving an “Oops” mailer
- 41.5% made improvements after receiving the “Oops” mailer.
We compiled a list of the top three common items found in the recycling carts that don’t belong. Please remember to put the following items in your garbage cart:
- 31% clear plastic bags or film
- 26.8% plastic checkout bags
- 15.2% styrofoam
