Toronto picks winning bidder for private trash collection

A winning bidder has been chosen for the contract to pick up Toronto's residential garbage west of Yonge Street.

GFL Waste and Recycling Solution of Pickering, Ont., submitted the winning bid.

The firm bid $17.5 million for the contract, far less than three larger companies that also submitted bids.

The privatized pick-up would affect curbside collection for 165,000 homes from the Humber River to Yonge Street.

At some point in the future the city intends to extend privatized collection to the districts east of Yonge.

GFL (Green For Life) currently operates two city transfer stations.

Outsourcing garbage collection was a major campaign promise by Mayor Rob Ford. He promised it would save $8-million and stop future strikes.

City council will be asked to give final approval to the seven-year contract next week.

If the bid is approved the privatized collection service could be up and running by the middle of 2012.