regina city council approves user-fee model for all waste collection
a green bin will join your brown and blue bins in late 2023 with fees for all three coming into effect in 2024.
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the city rolled out a green bin pilot program in 2020 and will now implement it city-wide in 2023. all curbside waste collection will now move to a user fee.
troy fleece
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regina leader-post
all waste collection in regina will be subject to a user fee instead of a mixture of utility bills and property tax, after a vote by city council wednesday. a motion to move all curbside collection, including a new green bin program, was carried 9-2 during wednesday’s meeting with coun. cheryl stadnichuk (ward 1) and coun. andrew stevens (ward 3) voting against the option put forward by city administration.
while the green bin program is set to roll out in late 2023, the fees will come into effect in january 2024.
coun. bob hawkins (ward 2) said “this is a program about waste diversion. it’s about improving the length of our landfill, which is extremely expensive.”
hawkins added that this motion will put regina on the same page as other cities of a similar size and will contribute to environmental targets set out by the city.
during an executive committee meeting on oct. 19 mayor sandra masters asked to confirm that the “net increase for the average house in the city of regina” for the new green bin service is $31.46 per year. a new service will mean new fees, explained the city administration.
the now-council-approved report from city administration recommended that all waste collection become subject to user fees at a cost of $0.53/day or $193.45 per year with a 240-litre garbage cart and $0.78/day or $284.70 per year with a 360-litre garbage cart. blue bins would remain 360 litres and green bins would be 240 litres under the recommended option.
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the fee covers all three bins.
the average increase over what residents currently pay between taxes and user fees will be $102.20 with a 240-litre garbage bin and $193.45 with a 360-litre garbage bin.
other options laid out by city administration proposed a mixture of user fees and utility bills to cover all three bins, or funding all three bins through property tax. stevens raised the concern that “the formula is inequitable” and would save homeowners with high assessed property values more money while smaller homeowners would see increased fees for waste collection.
but he successfully moved an amendment, which will see the adoption of an income-based utility rebate program for regina residents “where the gross household income is less than or equal to the before-tax low income cut-off,” according to the report.
the amendment passed 7-4 with hawkins, masters, coun. lori bresciani (ward 4) and coun. landon mohl (ward 10) voting against.
stadnichuk also sought to make the program more affordable for low-income residents.
“we are already planning an increase in terms of water and sewer charges for the next two years,” said stadnichuk, who asked what those additional fees will look like.
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kurtis doney, director of water, waste and environment for the city, was not able to offer a figure but said a dollar amount could be provided at a later date.
stadnichuk asked what the administration’s reasoning is for switching all waste collection to a user fee instead of attaching it to property taxes.
kim onrait, executive director of citizen services, said a user fee puts more control in the hands of the resident since they are able to choose the size of their waste bin. city administration has said that an ability to opt-out of the green collection would undercut the goal of the program and would make it difficult to administer.
stadnichuk moved an amendment to adopt “option 2” in the report, which would see recycling and food waste be covered by property tax while garbage collection charged through a user fee.
“i think this is the more fair option,” stadnichuk said.
the amendment was defeated 4-7 with stevens, stadnichuk, coun. john findura (ward 5) and leblanc voting in favour.
“i think we should side with a less regressive model,” said stevens, adding that he would like to see all waste collection attached to property tax.
the report to city council describes the green bin program as a “scrape the plate” program where oils, fats, grease, bones and dairy products can all go into the bin. for people who already have compost programs, these organic materials typically would not be eligible for a backyard compost bin.
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“anything that’s on your plate can go into the bin,” said doney, adding that so too can any waste produced “in your yard.”
the green bin pilot program that rolled out in 2020 saw 85 per cent of users satisfied and a posted waste diversion rate of 50 per cent.
administration says diverting waste will ensure a longer life for the landfill. replacing the landfill carries a price tag between $50 million to $100 million.
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