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A report submitted to the city’s public works, infrastructure and environmental advisory committee highlights composting initiatives by other Saskatchewan cities and makes suggestions to revive Moose Jaw’s composting efforts.
The report comes from the South Central Food Security Network (SCFSN), an inter-agency community-based committee organized to increase food security for people in the Moose Jaw area.
SCFSN members include the Moose Jaw and District Food Bank, Sask Polytech, Prairie South School Division, Riverside Mission, Hunger in Moose Jaw, and John Howard Society among others.
The SCFSN report references a news article from July 2000 that hailed the composting leadership of Moose Jaw, referring to a weekly organic waste pick-up program. That program was discontinued only a few years later because too many residents were putting garbage in with their compost, rendering it unusable.
Currently, organic waste goes to the landfill with everything else. This shortens the landfill’s lifespan, produces greenhouse gases as organic material rots, and potentially represents a waste of valuable compost.
The provincial government released a plan in 2020 to reduce solid waste by 30 per cent by 2030. Part of the provincial strategy is creating diversion programs to keep organic waste out of landfills.
In 2015, the SCFSN report says, city council rejected a proposal from the environmental advisory committee to establish a central composting heap. Their decision referenced the failure of the earlier program. Former city councillor Brian Swanson said at the time that if environmental friendliness was the goal, Moose Javians should be composting in their own yards.
However, council has changed its stance on the possibility of a municipal organic waste program. The current landfill is fast approaching retirement age, while a new solid waste plan with proposals for greater sustainability is due by late 2022.
Coun. Crystal Froese said in November 2021 that she was “happy to see here that it’s included the alternative solid waste management component” including gas capture, energy capture, and composting ideas incorporating new green technologies.
The SCFSN report says that a municipal organic waste strategy would involve the following steps:
- A written long-term plan committing to organic waste diversion
- Landfill organic waste zoning or the establishment of a separate organic waste area
- Specific organic waste bins for residents
- A truck specialized to pick up organic waste from residential bins
- A public awareness campaign to inform citizens of the program
The report outlines the steps of other cities. Saskatoon currently offers an opt-in annual subscription option for residents that collects yard and food waste bi-weekly.
Regina has successfully piloted a similar bi-weekly pick-up. The first month of the pilot diverted 51.7 per cent of the waste of participating households away from the landfill. Regina will implement the program city-wide by fall 2023.
Prince Albert offers curbside pick-up of paper yard-waste bags from May to mid-November, then sells the finished compost for $1 per 10 kilograms.
The SCFSN proposes three options for the city, outlined in order of cost. The first option is comprehensive and would require dedicated staff and equipment. It might involve an increased cost to residents and would result in saleable compost.
The second option is a drop-off program with a central location. It would still require monitoring to ensure organic waste was uncontaminated by non-compostable materials, and would only work for residents able to haul their waste to the location. The city would still be able to sell the resulting compost.
The third option would not change anything — a public awareness campaign would inform residents of the availability of composting bins and the value of sorting waste properly. Only residents with yard space can use such bins, and no compost could be resold.
