Who gets Blue Cart Recycling?
Residents with City garbage collection have Blue Cart Recycling. Residents who live in condos and apartments have a multi-family recycling program. Talk to your property manager for more information.
When is my recycling collection day?
Recycling is collected every other week, on a different day than garbage. To find out your collection days, enter your address below.
Is recycling picked up in the front street or in the back alley?
Your recycling is collected from the same place your garbage is collected. When you take your Blue Cart out for collection, please leave it in the same place you put your garbage cart for collection.
Recycling Costs
What will it cost?
The recycling service will cost $91.25 a year, billed through a monthly charge added to the City utility bill.
The recycling fee includes: annual fee for collection (45 per cent), fee for processing the recyclables (24 per cent) and administrative costs including payment processing, contract management and communications (31 per cent).
The annual recycling fee is based on a cost-recovery approach for the recycling service. The City will receive 25 per cent of the revenue from selling the recyclables. The City has already factored in the anticipated revenue and used it to offset the recycling fee.
Is the recycling service mandatory?
Yes. The City consulted residents to make sure the recycling service reflects what they want. Through that process, Council approved the Waste Plan Regina – Enhanced Service option that we’re currently offering.
What recyclables does the City take?
Blue Cart recycling will accept paper, plastics labelled #1-7, glass, tin and more. Read the full list of acceptable materials.
What happens if I place non-recyclable or unacceptable materials in my Blue Cart?
Please only include acceptable recyclables in your Blue Cart. Any unacceptable material that are mixed in with the recyclables have to be removed at the processing facility and taken to the Landfill. The City’s recycling costs increase based on the amount of unacceptable material that get mixed in with the recycling.
Am I responsible for my Blue Cart?
Yes, it is your responsibility to look after your Blue Cart. Please store your cart in a secure location on your property. If you move, the cart must be left for the next homeowner. If your cart gets damaged or goes missing, please call Service Regina at 306-777-7000.
Can I leave my cart out during the week?
No, residents are reminded to store their carts securely on their properties. Residents are responsible if their carts are damaged or go missing.
What if I have manual garbage collection?
If you have manual garbage collection, you will also receive manual recycling collection. You will receive a year’s supply of clear plastic bags for your recyclables. You can put a maximum of four bags out on your assigned collection day. Please put your recyclables out for collection in the same place you leave your garbage.
What if I forget a pick-up?
If you forget to put your recyclables out for collection, you can wait until your next collection day or take your paper and cardboard to one of the Big Blue Bins.
What happens if my cart is missed on my collection day?
If your cart was out by 7:30 a.m. on your collection day and it was not picked up, please call Service Regina at 306-777-7000 to request service.
If I have special arrangements for my garbage collection, will they apply to my recycling collection as well?
Yes. The City has worked with Loraas Disposal Services to identify residents that have special arrangements in place.
How can residents put their Blue Carts out for collection in the winter?
The City will continue using its priority snow clearing system to allow for garbage and recycling collection to occur in a timely manner. Residents are asked to make sure their carts are placed on a flat surface every time they put carts out for collection. In the winter, carts should not be placed on snow ridges, but in a flat place in front of snow ridges.
Our Partners
Who provides the recycling service?
The City followed a public procurement process and awarded the recycling contracts to winning bidders to ensure the best rates and the best service to residents.
The residential recycling collection contract was awarded to Loraas Disposal Services and the processing contract to Emterra Environmental. Loraas is Saskatchewan’s largest waste and recycling service provider, and has more than 40 years of experience in the industry. Emterra operates 13 facilities across Canada and has been in business since 1976.
What is Loraas Disposal Services responsible for?
Loraas is responsible for initial cart deployment, annual deployment of the recycling bags, bi-weekly collection of the recyclables, daily delivery of the recyclables to the processing facility, and repairs and maintenance of the carts.
What is Emterra Environmental responsible for?
Emterra is responsible for operating a materials recovery facility (located in the Global Transportation Hub) sorting processing and selling the recyclables on the open market.
What is the City of Regina responsible for?
The City is responsible for providing the first point of contact for customer service questions, issues of concerns, public education and communication on how to use the recycling service, managing the contracts with Loraas and Emterra, and providing additional corporate services such as invoicing.
What about SARCAN Recycling?
While the City’s recycling program will accept beverage bottles and cans, residents are welcome to take their containers to SARCAN Recycling for a deposit refund.
How are the recyclables processed?
Emterra Environmental has built a facility that uses a state-of-the-art system of conveyor belts, screens, magnets and blasts of air to separate and sort the recyclables. The sorted materials will then be baled and sold on the open market for use in production of other materials.
While the process of sorting the recyclables is partially automated, Emterra employees do handle some of the material. Please remember to only put acceptable recyclables in your cart to keep staff safe.
Background
How is Blue Cart recycling good for the environment?
The benefits of Blue Cart recycling are that it preserves natural resources, has positive economic impacts, and extends the useful life of the landfill.
How did we get here? What did the City do to consult residents?
The City began consulting residents and stakeholder groups representing citizens, the public sector and the private sector on Waste Plan Regina and recycling service in 2008 and 2009. The City launched a campaign called “Let’s Talk Trash” to gather feedback and conducted public opinion polling, focus groups, public meetings and requested feedback online and through comment cards in public locations.
As a result of industry research and consultation, a list of potential opportunities was provided to stakeholders and the public for feedback. The top three options coming out of the consultation were presented to City Council, and Council approved the option residents liked best – Enhanced Services.
