Garbage and organics collection changes on the horizon for multi-unit housing

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The City of Saskatoon is considering changes to the way garbage and organic waste are handled for multi-unit homes like apartment buildings and townhouses.

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A report to Tuesday’s meeting of city council’s environment, utilities and corporate services committee discusses removing garbage collection charges from property taxes and charging for them through a utility fee, which has already happened for single-unit homes.

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The report includes results from a pilot project in which organic waste like kitchen scraps was collected from multi-unit properties in Ward 5.

It says about half of multi-unit buildings in the city have 25 or fewer units, while around 26 per cent have 50 or more and 25 per cent have 25 to 60 units. It notes that some townhouses are considered multi-unit service properties.

The multi-unit sector sends roughly 17,500 tonnes of trash to the dump every year, representing about seven per cent of the solid waste added to the landfill.

Data collected in 2019 shows about 63 per cent of the material found in samples of garbage from multi-unit properties could be diverted from the landfill by recycling or composting, it says, noting that multi-unit garbage services cost the city $2,688,500 annually.

The city already launched a curbside waste utility for single-family dwellings in 2024, billing homeowners a monthly fee rather than charging for it through property taxes.

Plans are underway to improve the funding model for multi-unit properties that use city garbage collection or may switch from a private collection service in the future, the report says.

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One of the administration’s recommendations is to create a service fee for multi-unit garbage collection and remove it from property taxes.

The report notes that multi-unit residential buildings may need additional services like extra collections.

“Rental properties often face more challenges with behaviour that leads to overfilled containers,” it states.

On the topic of organics collection, a report to the committee says a 2024 pilot project in Ward 5 identified weekly collection as a preference, and convenient cart location as vital to encourage participation.

Senior living complexes and owner-occupied multi-unit properties like condos had better participation rates compared to rentals, the report says. It notes there may be some bias in the data, since the pilot study was optional — only properties that had an interest or willingness participated.

The report also says the participating area typically has average rates of contamination (mixing of recyclable or compostable material with actual garbage) and the pilot did not include neighbourhoods with a historically high rate of illegal dumping or contamination.

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Eighty-one per cent of respondents to a survey of people who participated in the organics program at least once said they would support a city-wide multi-unit organics program; 11 per cent said they would somewhat support it. Five per cent said they would not participate, and the remaining three per cent were unsure.

While no changes are coming in the immediate future, the administration is expected to present options to consider in the second quarter of the year.

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