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The City of Regina has announced a mutual termination of its green bin contract with EverGen for a permanent composting facility that was proposed near Pilot Butte.
Regina’s contract terminated for permanent compost facility
The City of Regina felt that a “full and public transparent procurement process” was needed to continue its search for a permanent facility.
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However, that doesn’t mean there will be a change in weekly green bin service for food and yard waste in Regina.
“For residents, this requires no change to their current behaviour,” said Carolyn Kalim, director of water, waste and environment for the City of Regina, at a media conference on Wednesday.
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The city rolled out its green bin program in September 2023 after a pilot project involving 2,000 Regina residents in 2020. It utilized a temporary compost site at the Regina landfill, which has processed 20,000 tonnes of organic waste since the start of the program, said Kalim.
The city’s goal was to divert 65 per cent of organic material from the landfill for composting through the Food and Yard Waste program.
Green bin waste will continue to be taken to the Regina landfill, where EverGen has been operating the temporary site and is training city staff to take over operations on Feb. 1, Kalim said.
The city had signed a 10-year agreement with EverGen to process all of its organic waste. The contract will be terminated early, with the company handing over operations completely on Feb. 28.
The City of Regina said it wanted to make changes to the contract with EverGen for its permanent organic waste site, but the city felt that a “full and public transparent procurement process was the best way to continue to pursue that.”
The Regina-wide composting program, which has been nearly seven years in the making, is estimated to cost around $6.3 million per year.
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The city said it “remains committed” to building a new permanent facility and will issue a new request for proposals, with EverGen allowed to participate in the bidding process.
The city is still looking at a permanent facility in the RM of Edenwold, but it’s more flexible to new locations under the upcoming request for proposals.
Residents from the RM of Edenwold and nearby Pilot Butte had expressed concerns about the project when it was proposed, citing potential issues with odour, pests and water contamination.
— with files from Angela Amato
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