The city is cutting down its green cart pickup schedule to once every two weeks over the winter but that doesn’t mean there will be any change to the cost of the service.

Starting November 6, the green cart collection schedule will be staggered to once every two weeks, matching curbside pickup for black bins.

Officials say that it’s because of a decreasing volume of material being placed in the bins over the winter months.

However, that doesn’t mean that there will be any change to the cost of the service, because the pickup is just a small part of the fee included in your bill.

“There are efficiencies from reduced service in the winter but we have to keep in mind that fee is for operating the entire program, it’s not just for collection,” says Laura Hamilton, a waste diversion specialist at the City of Calgary.

The facility operates year-round and Hamilton says those costs also go towards education programs and the carts themselves.

She says the change came when they noticed a drop in the collection amount in the first year of the program and the winter months also cut down on some of the more unpleasant odours connected to the bins.

“There’s still quite a bit; food waste, tissues, food-soiled paper and there is some yard waste too,” she said. “It’s just less than in the summer when we are doing our grass and all of that.”

Jessica Wood says she doesn’t even use her green cart that often over the year and a staggered pickup schedule won’t affect her. She says that it’s unfair that she has to pay the same as other residents.

“We rarely fill up out bin enough for it to be picked up weekly let alone bi-weekly so if there is any way to get a reduction in our service cost for that, it would be fantastic. I don’t usually even put out my black bins every two weeks. If there is a pay for service for that and the blue bins, I am definitely in support of that.”

Hamilton also says that the cost savings from the reduced pick up schedule will also go towards offsetting the subsidy in place to make the service cheaper for all Calgarians.

The composting program costs each household $6.50 per month, but that could likely change in the next budget.

(With files from Chris Epp)