After ongoing complaints about the state of many public litter bins in various Toronto neighbourhoods, there’s a push at city hall for a new way to handle the installation and maintenance of the problematic containers.In a motion to be voted on at a March 10 executive committee meeting, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and Councillor Paula Fletcher said they want staff to be directed to investigate creating a separate process for the bins when the City’s 20-year agreement with Astral Media ends in 2027.“Over the life of the current contract, there have been five different designs for the litterbins with varying levels of functionality as well as issues regarding maintenance and installation,” a joint letter said.“With the contract ending, the City can now step in to ensure our litter bins are well-designed, well-maintained, well-placed, responsive to community needs and end the persistent problem of broken and overflowing litter bins that make our main streets less livable.”Related:Toronto council calls for action on battered, broken and overflowing public garbage binsUnder their proposal, they want to see “all the aspects of the litter bins wholly under the control of the City” and get feedback from the public as well as from complaints filed through 311.Astral Out of Home, a subsidiary of Bell Media, was awarded a 20-year contract in 2007. Astral staff are responsible for creating, installing and maintaining more than 25,000 pieces of street furniture, including the bins. A portion of those furniture pieces have advertising. The City of Toronto’s solid waste management staff are responsible for removing the trash in the receptacles.When the contract is released for bidding, Chow and Fletcher want it split into two: One for the bins and one for everything else. With the proposed process for the public litter bins, they also said they want City staff to investigate potentially bringing the installation and maintenance in-house.In a post on X Monday morning, Coun. Josh Matlow bluntly echoed the call for improvements.Related:Broken and overflowing garbage bins still a problem across Toronto“The Astral contract should be thrown in the garbage where it belongs,” he wrote. “The bins break and overflow, the info (ad) signs clutter our sidewalks, and they’re poorly maintained. This should come back in-house to provide better service, accountability and a cleaner, more beautiful Toronto.”In recent years, the public litter bins have been a regular target of online criticism due to busted components and overflowing waste. CityNews previously reported on multiple instances where broken bins could be seen on public property.During a 2024 news conference, City of Toronto officials unveiled a newly designed bin in an effort to address durability and functionality concerns. There were plans to install more than 1,000 of the new units.Related:Toronto unveils new sidewalk garbage bins, more than 1,000 to be installed across the cityOfficials said at the time that additional City staff would also be hired to inspect the garbage bins and report overflowing and maintenance issues over a six-month period to recommend optimal collection frequency.Currently, the city’s litter operations run 20 hours every day with more than 50,000 collections per week. Astral staff said they were committed to completing inspections of 11,000 bins on a weekly basis at least.Meanwhile, with the FIFA World Cup set to occur in Toronto later in 2026, Chow and Fletcher said they want staff to make sure public litter bins are “well-placed and well-maintained” throughout the soccer tournament.With files from Meredith Bond