City council is being advised to contract out garbage collection west of Yonge Street to a private company in a deal officials say may save the city $11.5 million a year.
GFL Environmental East Corporation has been named as the lowest bidder vying for a chance to collect trash in Toronto's District 2 area, which comprises a large swath of the city west of Yonge Street.
In a report released Wednesday, two city employees urged council to award GFL a contract worth more than $186 million to do the job.
The recommendation made by the city's manager of Solid Waste Management Services and the Director of Purchasing and Materials Management will be discussed at next Monday's city council meeting.
If awarded, the seven-year long contract will begin on Aug. 7, 2012. The proposed deal includes the option to extend the contract for two additional one-year periods.
Privatizing garbage collection was a key issue in Mayor Rob Ford's election campaign, much to the chagrin of Toronto's public workers union.
CUPE Local 416 has long opposed the plan to contract out trash pickup, warning residents that privatizing the service might cost taxpayers more, not less.
Ford has explained his push to privatize garbage pick-up in specific parts of the city as a way to wrestle down Toronto's previously-projected budget shortfall of $774 million.
Toronto's District 2 stretches west from Yonge Street and is bound by the Humber River to the west, Steeles Avenue to the north and Lake Ontario to the south.
