City of Saskatoon Compost Depots

The City of Saskatoon Compost Depots are NOW CLOSED for the 2010 season.

The two depots are located at:

• McOrmond Road, between 8th Street and College Drive
• Highway 7 at the intersection with 11th St. W (on the north side of the highway across from the stables).
  

All residential and commercial loads are welcome. There is no charge.

Acceptable materials:

• grass
• leaves
• garden materials NOTE: For 2010, the depots CANNOT accept potato or tomato plants or fruit from gardens. The Late Blight will survive winter and may survive the compost process, which could then contaminate gardens using the compost.
  
• straw / hay
• top soil
• branches (non-elm)
• sod
• pine cones

Materials can be accepted in PAPER compostable bags, as long as they are split open or partially dumped at the site. We cannot accept PLASTIC compostable bags, as we cannot confirm that they are compostable. We suggest you take these home for reuse, or to compost in your back-yard composter.

Unacceptable materials

• gravel
• clay
• elm wood of any type (twigs, stumps, branches, etc.) FYI, pruning of elm trees is illegal from April 1 to August 31
• lumber
• food waste
• garbage

This year, we will be accepting non-elm branches, as long as our staff can identify them as such. (Elm must still be taken to the landfill for proper disposal to help prevent the spread of Dutch elm disease).

PLEASE NOTE that dumping of inappropriate materials, or dumping of any materials outside of site hours, is subject to fines.

What happens to the materials you bring?

The City chips the wood, and mixes it with the other materials to create compost piles. These piles are aerated and watered, and turned into finished compost, which is then being used by the City for landscaping and in City parks.

In 2009, Saskatoon 26,000 visitors dropped off 17,500 tonnes of materials, a four-fold increase over 2008. That's a huge pile kept out of our landfill, and it makes a lot of compost! Thanks, Saskatoon!

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