Saanich puts plan to charge for yard-waste drop-off on hold

Saanich is pausing its plan to charge residents to dump garden waste at its McKenzie Avenue municipal yard.

The plan had been to impose a new fee for dumping yard waste while offering larger curbside organics recycling bins — 360 litres, up from 240 litres, the largest size now — and a new subsidized rate for organics bins.

But on Monday, council voted unanimously to hold off the plan.

Coun. Susan Brice argued it makes sense to put the plans aside until after council deals with the district’s new biodiversity strategy, set for June.

Brice said it’s important not to take away incentives for residents to continue their stewardship of green space and trees.

“After the review, we may decide that a fee for service at the yard for garden waste dropoff does not enhance this objective,” she said. “Let’s have the discussion before making the decision.”

There was broad support for that motion, though council also agreed to continue pursuing the larger curbside yard-waste containers.

Mayor Dean Murdock said given the choice of a larger curbside bin or dropping off waste at the district facility, many will find the big bin appealing. But there others who will still rely on the yard and garden-waste dropoff to meet their needs, he said. “This pause is an opportunity for us to reflect on the most appropriate approach going forward to ensure that we’re accommodating those needs while acknowledging the work that folks do to maintain the trees and biodiversity that may exist on their properties.”

Reducing the number of people using the drop-off service would make it easier for Saanich to redevelop the municipal yard at McKenzie Avenue and Borden Street, a project with an estimated price tag of more than $200 million, although it’s still in the planning stages.

The aging site is deemed unfit to handle future growth, with buildings that are 40 to 70 years old, don’t meet building-code requirements and are deemed to be past their useful life.

A revised concept plan for the redevelopment is expected to come to council this spring and could include commercial and residential development that could help the district meet provincial housing targets.

A staff report noted the current garden waste drop-off facility is not sustainable in its current location, given anticipated future needs of the community.

The report said implementing an interim flat-fee pay-for-service model would generate revenue estimated at nearly $800,000 annually, as well as reducing traffic volume, discouraging non-residents from using the facility, and encouraging home composting and curbside collection.

The program comes with an incentive, as Saanich will move to lower organics-cart fees, subsidizing collection through curbside containers. Currently, garbage fees are lower than organic fees.

The cost for a 120-litre garbage cart is $31.50 per year while the 120-litre organics cart costs $49.35 per year because organics are heavier, which increases their tipping fees.

That means it’s cheaper by volume for residents to use their garbage carts instead of their organics carts.