City of Regina plan would keep 65% of garbage out of landfill by 2020

The push to get Reginans to send a lot less garbage to the landfill is moving slower than planned but hasn't been scrapped, a city hall report says.

The city has had a waste plan in place for several years, and it was hoped that by now, at least 40 per cent of the residential waste being generated would be diverted so that it didn't end up in the dump.

Instead, by the end of 2016, only 20 per cent was being diverted, a report going to the public works and infrastructure committee on Thursday says.

The city says there are a number of reasons it didn't reach its goal. The 40 per cent figure was based in part on plans for a new program for curbside pickup of leavesand yard waste.

That program was never launched and as a result, a lot of leaves are ending up in garbage cans, the report says.

Garbage volumes could also be reduced in future if the city allows more types of items in its recycle bins that are currently banned for example, plastic bags or disposable drinking cups.

Meanwhile, the city isn't backing down on plans to send less material to the landfill.

It has set a new goal of diverting 65 per cent of residential garbagefrom the landfill by 2020.