A new year means another great yard waste season in Swift Current. 

The Residential Yard Waste Program is almost on again, slated to open on April 16. 

The program sees Swift Current residents able to drop off their yard waste at both the East Landfill and the Recycle Depot on North Railway Street. It's completely free to drop at either location, and allows the City to turn the refuse into reusable fertilizer and mulch products. 

Keegan Story, general manager of environmental services for the City of Swift Current, encourages people to make use of this program once again this year.

"Starting on the 16, the depot will be open seven days a week," shared Story. "With the exception of statutory holidays."

Monday, Wednesday and Friday will have the gate open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday are going to operate from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. THe weekend will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The yard waste is separated into two categories. Leafy waste like grass, leaves, and other light material is kept in one part, while wood trimmings smaller than eight inches in diameter are kept in a separate pile. These are made into mulch and fertilizer, which the City then sells back to the people of Swift Current at a small fee. 

"The goal is to help our residents clean up their yards," said Story. "But also to keep it out of our landfills. The way we do that is by feeding our composting program with these materials."

The City is also able to utilize this byproduct in its parks and flower beds, either boosting soil with fertilizers or adding woodchips to specialized cases. 

The only real conditions are that people please use the appropriate drop-off sights for the specific materials, and that they separate them beforehand to help speed things up.

Another important thing to note is that hiding other materials, like household and chemical waste, in the yard waste during drop-off is a very big violation. People caught cheating the system may end up facing reprecutions, and other penalties.