Changes are coming to Moose Jaw’s free landfill tipping program, as residents will have fewer days to dump their organic waste but will be allowed to use trailers to offload that refuse.
The program still waives the $10 fee for residents to haul organic yard waste — leaves, grass clippings and pruned branches no bigger than one inch in diameter — to the dump. However, changes mean residents can use trailers to drop off the waste in addition to their vehicles. Commercial trailers and dual axle trailers would be excluded.
Furthermore, the program will designate one Saturday and Sunday of free landfill tipping in the spring and a similar weekend in the fall.
The previous program featured two weeks of free landfill tipping in the spring and the fall, with residents able to bring their yard waste using only half-ton trucks or small vehicles.
During city council’s April 22 regular meeting, council voted 6-1 to adopt the new landfill tipping program practices, while it also voted 6-1 to discontinue the previous practices.
Coun. Brian Swanson was opposed to the first motion. Mayor Fraser Tolmie was opposed to the second motion.
City hall will announce when the dates are for the free landfill tipping program in the spring.
Background information
Under the previous program, residents brought items that were not considered household waste, such as appliances, furniture, construction material, fencing and concrete. These materials are classified as restricted waste and increased operational demands to handle, according to a report from the department of engineering services.
Furthermore, customers verbally abused landfill employees and dumped their material illegally. Vehicles with trailers were also weighed in, but did not return to be re-weighed and left without paying.
During the four weeks when the municipality waived the $10 tipping fee, customers dumped 2,500 tonnes of waste at the landfill. Meanwhile, the number of vehicles has increased year over year, with 9,464 customers using the service in 2018.
Council discussion
“The number 1 commodity there is air space. The more free debris we take, the less air space we have. Then we have to expand the landfill,” said Coun. Chris Warren.
“I do not want to have a situation where there is a free-for-all and anything can come … I am open to what administration is proposing to limit amount of time we accept waste at the landfill.”
City hall needs to start thinking differently about how it handles garbage at the landfill, said Coun. Crystal Froese. Bringing non-yard waste garbage to the dump for free is counterproductive.
Coun. Brian Swanson was also concerned about filling up the landfill without receiving revenue for doing so. He thought this would lead to “the next huge saga in Moose Jaw” about how to manage the dump. He wondered when the site would be expanded.
Expanding the dump would be difficult since it is enclosed by the adjacent railway and Caribou Street, said Josh Mickleborough, director of engineering.
“I feel we’re like we’re living in ’70s in this city with this legacy dump,” said Mayor Fraser Tolmie. “I look at other cities that are much further advanced and we are still struggling with these issues.”
Tolmie wanted city administration to take a gradual approach to informing the community about what is acceptable at the dump and what isn’t.
