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The percentage of material diverted from Saskatoon’s landfill increased slightly in 2017, but still remains far below city hall’s goal of 70 per cent.

The city’s waste diversion rate rose to 22.8 per cent last year, up from 21.8 per cent in 2016, according to a City of Saskatoon report. On a list of 18 other Canadian municipalities, only Regina ranked worse than Saskatoon in 2017, with a 21.8 per cent diversion rate.

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The average rate among those cities is 43.7 per cent, the report says. Edmonton diverts 52 per cent of material, Winnipeg 34.7 per cent and Calgary 27.2 per cent.

The amount of material recycled in Saskatoon dropped slightly in 2017, but so did the amount of material taken to the landfill.

“We need to bring new programs in to have much more significant impact,” said Brenda Wallace, the city’s director of environmental and corporate initiatives.

“Through education, all we’re doing is tweaking our performance at the margins. We need to expand the services that make it more convenient for residents to be composting and recycling.”