Toronto officials are set to provide an update to the controversial sidewalk garbage bins which has drawn the ire of councillors and residents.
Mayor Olivia Chow and Deputy Mayor Mike Colle will be on hand at Nathan Phillips Square on Thursday morning to demonstrate what the City calls “new and enhanced” modifications that will increase the durability and functionality of sidewalk litter bins across the city.
The once “futuristic” litter bins have had a checkered past since Astral Out of Home was awarded a 20-year contract by the City in 2007 to create, install and maintain more than 25,000 pieces of street furniture, including transit shelters, benches, automatic public toilets and public garbage bins. However, since their introduction, the City has been inundated with work orders to fix the garbage containers across multiple communities.
While the City of Toronto’s solid waste management staff is responsible for removing the trash in the receptacles, Astral is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the bins themselves.
The initial design of the bins featured a foot pedal that needed to be depressed to deposit garbage hands-free. But they started to malfunction and were soon removed altogether. The original plastic bins were later replaced with new “retro” looking metal cans. Complaints soon followed about broken doors and hinges that wouldn’t shut and overflowing garbage spilling onto the sidewalks and streets.
Under the terms of the deal, the company is required to fix emergency issues affecting the bins within 24 hours and all other maintenance issues need to be fixed within 48 hours. However, supply chain issues were usually blamed for impacting repair timelines.
Some neighbourhood BIAs have been forced to purchase their own upgraded “slimline” garbage cans to get broken ones replaced faster.
In May 2022, city council requested that the replacement of bins be expedited and that quarterly numbers be collected for the number of damaged bins and the time to repair them. Those numbers have yet to be produced.