Regina begins user-pay model for curbside waste collection
CBC
Regina residents will now see an overarching curbside waste collection service fee tacked onto their utility bills instead of their property taxes.
Up until Jan. 1, the cost of recycling (collected in blue carts) showed up on utility bills. Regular garbage collection (gathered in brown carts) fell under property taxes.
Creating the blanket fee, which includes organic waste pick-up that's collected in green carts, and adding it onto the cost of utilities cut this year's mill rate increase — currently at 2.85 per cent — by 3.16 per cent, according to a report by city administration.
The new fee covers garbage, recycling, and the new food and yard waste pick-up.
The amount each household pays will depend on the size of their garbage bin. The status-quo, bigger 360-litre cart has a cost of $284.70 a year, while the new, smaller 240-litre cart will cost $193.45 annually.
People interested in downsizing their brown bins can contact the city to make the swap.
Low-income households, seniors and people with disabilities have the option to apply for a rebate. The standard daily rebate works out to $54.75 per year and the increased daily rebate is $109.50 annually.
City council voted in October 2022 to bring in this user-pay model. It was put on hold, pending the rollout of the green carts last September.
Council's hope is this will help prevent additional unnecessary waste being deposited at the landfill, eventually increasing Regina's waste diversion rate to 65 per cent — a rate that's sat at 20 per cent for nearly a decade.
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