Penner Waste and the City of Winkler recently signed a new five-year contract for the community's waste and compost pickup. The contract begins January 1, 2019.

The city recently underwent a complete review of waste services before initiating an open request for proposal. Winkler Mayor Martin Harder says Penner Waste made the most sense and came in with the lowest bid.

For weekly garbage bag service, Pete Klassen came in at $490,800, MWM at $306,240 and Penner Waste with $189,600. Compost services saw a spread of $350,240 from MWM, and $235,600 from Penner Waste.

"The contract is very important to Penner Waste," Owner Jake Penner explains. "We're just really fortunate they chose a local company versus a company out of the province."

Residential waste pickup will continue with a two bag limit in 2019. However, commercial and industrial waste pickup will be discontinued. Harder says many businesses have indicated they would like to contract their own waste services privately. He also encourages residents to consider purchasing a larger compost bin from the civic centre for a subsidized price of $20.

"The city is always looking at diversion, and Penner Waste is all about diverting, getting away from that landfill image," Penner says, adding they continue to divert millions of pounds of waste from the landfill through their shingles and drywall recycling programs among others.