So far, the City of Saskatoon’s green cart program has seen more than 3,000 tonnes of organic material diverted from the landfill. That’s more than half what was received for the entire green cart subscription program last year. A news release from the City says 66 per cent of the green carts were set out for their scheduled collection in May and that rose to 75 per cent in the final week. Garbage cart rates average around 77 per cent.

The City is aware of a social media post regarding a green cart fire, but says there haven’t been any reports of fires in green carts. Some materials not accepted in the carts could pose a fire risk. They include fire pit ash and briquettes, cigarettes and butts, hazardous substances, batteries, compressed gases and explosives. To date, about 1.3 per cent, or 40 tonnes of green cart collections have needed to go to the landfill due to contamination. Only BPI-certified compostable bags are accepted. If there are visible contaminants, such as garbage bags not accepted, the carts will not be collected.