Josh Matlow dreams of a Toronto without piles of hot garbage. Can it be done?

We’ve all seen them: the humble city garbage bins in some state of disrepair, whether it be an access door swinging in the wind, drink cans and food scraps bursting from overfilled holes, or even the rare trash timber, where the whole bin falls over. As temperatures rise, so does the stench of an overfull bin’s ripening contents. It’s gross, and city councillor Josh Matlow is mad about it.

At the heart of the issue is the city’s contract with Astral Media, the advertising company that, since 2007, has been solely responsible for providing and maintaining the city’s garbage bins as well as some signposts, bus shelters and benches. Here, Matlow explains why he’d like to toss that contract in the trash and argues that, were its public receptacles done right, the city could make garbage a thing of beauty.

Spring is here. The birds are chirping. Why are you so worked up about garbage bins? Picture this: it’s a beautiful sunny day in Toronto. I’m out for a walk, admiring the blue skies, the green grass. Then I see the glistening of an Astral-branded garbage bin—and smell the garbage. And as I walk by, distracted, I run into an open bin door that’s been like that for the past six months.

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Ah, jeez. Why can’t the city seem to do anything right? For far too long, Toronto has reached for the height of mediocrity for its public spaces. I’ve been to cities around the world where you can be in awe of what you see around you. When you walk down streets in Toronto, you see these clunky advertising boards stuck in the middle of the sidewalks, cheap-looking garbage bins overflowing and broken, and public spaces full of concrete. We need to make better choices.

What’s your beef with the garbage bins specifically? They’re damn ugly, they break all the time, they’re constantly overflowing and they’re poorly maintained. They’re eyesores, and they’re not good at what they’re meant to do. And that’s bad for our quality of life. When we walk through the main street of our community and see bins bursting with garbage, it affects us. When we see beautiful design and well-maintained public spaces, it makes us happy. Whenever any of us moves into a new home, we design it in a way that makes us happy. We shouldn’t expect any less from our city.

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How did it get like this? Toronto’s street furniture is maintained by a private company, Astral Media, through a contract the city drew up back in 2007. That was signed before I was a councillor, but I remember the debates about how best to provide public services. There was this prevailing argument that the private sector can always do it better than the public sector. Lots of politicians were claiming that privatization would fix all of society’s problems: it would save tax dollars, improve services, give every kid a pony. Back then, these debates were all hypothetical, but now we’re seeing the reality of what privatization actually delivers.

The Astral Media contract was promised as a cost-effective way for the city to provide services and save tax dollars. In reality, the profit motive incentivized the construction of low-quality street furniture. The contract also put Astral in charge of maintenance, and the company was supposed to respond to reports of severe damage within 24 hours. It was supposed to check on each garbage can, bench and whatnot once a week and provide regular cleaning to all 24,000 pieces of street furniture.

That sounds like a pretty rigorous maintenance schedule. Why aren’t these things spick and span? Because that maintenance hasn’t happened. It’s routine for these things to break and stay broken, which isn’t surprising given how the contract is set up. If a resident complains to 311 about a broken bin, 311 then files a complaint with Astral. Then Astral puts in a service complaint through a subcontractor. How is that efficient at all? The blame is partially with Astral for not living up to the terms of the contract, at least as I interpret them. But, really, it’s the city’s fault for getting us into that deal in the first place.

Couldn’t Astral just, you know, do a better job? That’s a question for them, but I wish they would. Evidently the city hasn’t held Astral to account, and I have a problem with that too. That’s why I believe that, when the contract comes up for renewal in 2027, we should scrap it and bring those services back in house. Bus shelters and garbage bins are basic services residents rely on. To get them fixed when they break, residents need the accountability of city hall rather than having the city call a private company and beg for something to happen.

Why can’t the city hold Astral accountable? It’s their contractor, after all. The city receives over $400 million in advertising revenue from Astral, plus free advertising worth around $2 million. Even though the city often gets frustrated with Astral, if it started a legal fight with the company now, it could cost us significantly. Fifteen years ago, that could still have been pragmatic. But we’re so close to the end of the contract now that the better move would just be to wait it out and not renew it. I’m confident that bringing this stuff in house would provide citizens with the quality they deserve.

I, for one, have seen city-run garbage bins stuffed to the brim on busy days, particularly in parks. Is this just a fact of life? We can do better if we choose to. I got my pay docked once for criticizing how the city runs its parks. I believe that maintaining our public spaces is something everyone should want. Investing tax dollars into those basic services improves all our lives. But the city has never, under any mayor, properly invested in these spaces.

Toronto’s street furniture circa 2007 wasn’t exactly inspiring. Is the current stuff so bad in comparison? Can we actually do better? Of course we can! We shouldn’t have to visit other cities to see public spaces that are beautifully designed and well maintained. We should be that city! And it’s not always more expensive either. It’s about making better choices that focus on our priorities rather than opting for the absolute cheapest and easiest deal we can get away with. That’s a recipe for buyer’s remorse.

What’s your dream for the city’s street furniture? I want it to be practical and purposeful. I want it to be beautiful and well designed and to contribute to a beautiful streetscape. And I want it to be clean and well maintained.

Is there an appetite at city council for this? I don’t know yet. Last year, I moved a motion titled Towards a Beautiful City that focused on beautifying the public realm, creating architectural standards and raising procurement standards for the furniture on our sidewalks. It was overwhelmingly approved, and now with the leadership of our new city planner, we’re moving on it. So I do see some interest in what I’m advocating for. But the debate about Astral just hasn’t happened yet, so I don’t know what council will do.

Could the city’s brutal financial situation affect council’s willingness to take this on? Look, there are lots of things the city does that may work best if we outsource them. But some things, like snow clearing, waste bins and bus shelters, residents rely on every day. There’s an appetite for the public to see these things improved, so we should pursue it.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.