Raccoons may soon have a harder time getting their paws on Toronto residents' garbage.
The city's public works committee will vote Thursday on awarding a 10-year contract for a new line of green bins.
The committee will decide whether to give Rehrig Pacific Company the $31-million contract at a meeting starting at 9:30 a.m. The green bin proposal is first on the agenda for the day.
Rehrig has proposed replacing the 46.5-litre bins with 100-litre bins, complete with locking lids and latches. The current bins measure 68 centimetres high by 39 centimetres wide by 45 centimetres deep. The new bins will measure 97 centimetres by 48 centimetres by 61 centimetres.
The lids are constructed in a way that allows them to be opened by automated collection vehicles, but are still resistant to the furry bandits.
The city's original green bins were introduced across the city between 2002 and 2006, with the understanding that they would last about 10 years.
Approximately 500,000 green bins are currently in use in Toronto, according to a report published March 19 by Solid Waste Management Services General Manager Elizabeth Goodger.
"These bins are reaching the end of their life expectancy and require replacement," the report said.
The bins are expected to roll out in late 2015 or early 2016, if the proposal is approved at Thursday's meeting.
