Advertising on Litter Containers and

Consolidation of Management of Litter Containers

The Works and Utilities Committee recommends that:

(1)the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services, in consultation with the City Solicitor, be directed to negotiate a five-year extended Pilot Project Agreement between the City and OMG Media Inc., which would replace any existing pilot project and which would be based on the type of agreements the City has with respect to bus shelters, to include the provision of collection of recyclable materials only by OMG Media Inc., such materials to be delivered to the City of Toronto transfer or processing facilities; and that the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services and the City Solicitor submit a report thereon to the Committee at its next meeting;

(2)based on the co-development of the Info-Boxes by OMG Media Inc. and the City of Toronto, the City Solicitor, in consultation with the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services, be directed to negotiate a royalty agreement with OMG Media Inc. for the installation of Info-Boxes units within and outside of the City of Toronto; and that the City Solicitor and the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services submit a report thereon to the Committee at its next meeting;

(3)there be no advertising on boxes in Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) where the BIA has objected; that cleanliness and prompt removal of graffiti be paramount to the agreement; and that such boxes be kept in a state of good repair;

(4)the collection of waste from, and the maintenance of litter containers within the road allowance be consolidated into the Solid Waste Management Services Division; and

(5)the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services, in consultation with the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services, provide an inventory on indoor and outdoor billboard, poster and sign advertising which are dependent on view from public areas including comments on the potential for additional revenue generation; and that such report be submitted to the appropriate reporting Committee by September 1999.

The Works and Utilities Committee reports, for the information of Council, having requested that:

(1)the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism be requested to consider such proposal in all of the City's parks; and

(2)the Chief Administrative Officer, in consultation with the Commissioner of Corporate Services, be requested to submit a report to the Corporate Services Committee on a corporate policy for the handling of unsolicited proposals by City staff.

The Works and Utilities Committee submits the following report (November 17, 1998) from the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services:

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to provide information and recommendations with respect to the provision of advertising on new three compartment litter container installations within the public road allowance at various locations within the City of Toronto, and to recommend the consolidation of the management of litter containers into the Solid Waste Management Services Division.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

The provision of replacement litter containers with an advertising component by an outside firm could reduce the annual cost for the maintenance and replacement of existing City-owned litter containers by an estimated $75,000.00, and could potentially generate revenues from the sale of the existing containers and from the advertising component associated with the new containers.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)the Works and Emergency Services Department put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) in early 1999 for the supply, installation, and maintenance (excluding emptying) of new litter containers which include an advertising component to replace existing litter containers at various locations within the road allowance in the City of Toronto;

(2)no additional pilot programs be approved until the results of the above-noted RFP have been received;

(3)when existing pilot programs terminate, the successful proponent(s) from the RFP in Recommendation No. (1) be required to provide litter containers in the pilot areas under the same terms and conditions stipulated in the RFP;

(4)the collection of waste from, and the maintenance of litter containers within the road allowance be consolidated into the Solid Waste Management Services Division; and

(5)the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services, in consultation with the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services, submit a report to the Urban Environment and Development Committee with recommendations on a policy framework for advertising on litter containers within the road allowance and on a consultation process with Community Councils.

Council Reference/Background/History:

OMG Media presently supplies the stainless steel litter containers Info-Boxes within the City of Toronto. There are currently three agreements in place between the City and OMG Media as listed below.

In June 1997, the former City of Etobicoke entered into a ten-year agreement for a pilot program with OMG Media for the supply, installation and maintenance (excluding emptying) of stainless steel litter containers Info-Boxes at various locations within the road allowance in the Etobicoke Community Council area; to date, there are 57 of these Info-Boxes in place. The City's share of the revenue, generated from the advertising component of the litter containers and pro-rated over the ten years, is approximately $8.00 per container per month or $5,472.00 annually.

On November 12, 1998, based on a request by the local Business Improvement Area (BIA), the Etobicoke Community Council endorsed:

(i)the removal of two OMG Media Info-Boxes on Bloor Street West in the Kingsway BIA; and

(ii)that no further litter containers of this type were to be installed in the Kingsway BIA without the BIA's approval.

It is our understanding that the Kingsway BIA group did not think the Info-Boxes blended aesthetically well in the area.

In August 1998, the City entered into an agreement with OMG Media for a pilot program for the supply, installation and maintenance (excluding emptying) of approximately 20 stainless steel litter containers Info-Boxes at various locations within the road allowance along St. Clair Avenue West between Winona Drive and Lansdowne Avenue. The pilot study will be completed in December of 1998. Staff are currently monitoring the area to:

(1)determine if the additional litter containers have reduced the litter on the street;

(2)measure the impacts the new litter containers have had, if any, on the City's collection systems; and

(3)receive input from the public with respect to the appearance and locations of the littercontainers.

Preliminary analysis indicates that the new containers have been well received by the public.

In October 1998, City of Toronto Council approved a six-month pilot project for the York Community Council area with OMG Media for the supply, installation and maintenance (excluding emptying) of approximately 20-40 stainless steel Info-Boxes at various locations within the road allowance in the York Community Council area.

During that same month, a letter was received from OMG's solicitors requesting approval to give a presentation to the Scarborough Community Council to place Info-Boxes within the road allowance in the Scarborough Community Council area of the City of Toronto.

Comments and/or Justification:

In addition to OMG Media, we have received enquiries from other firms interested in supplying the City with litter containers that have an advertising component.

In order to provide all interested firms an equal opportunity to compete for the supply of these containers to the City and in order to allow the City to identify its options to maximize cost reductions and potential revenue opportunities, we recommend that a Request for Proposals be issued in early 1999 for the replacement of existing litter containers. The replacement containers will be placed in locations that are acceptable to the Commissioner of the Works and Emergency Services Department and the local Community Councils.

There are currently 4,649 litter containers located at various locations within the public road allowance (litter containers in parks are not included). The type and style of the litter containers range from standup plastic, single and double aluminum standup, wire baskets with metal inserts, and pole mounted. The capital costs of the above-noted containers range from $115.00 to $700.00 per container.

The estimated annual cost city-wide for the replacement and maintenance (excluding emptying) of the existing litter containers is approximately $150,000.00 or $32.00 per container.

Currently, the management of the litter containers in the Etobicoke, North York, East York, and Scarborough Community Council areas is the responsibility of the Solid Waste Management Services Division (SWMD) and the responsibility of the Transportation Services Division (TSD) in the Toronto and York Community Council areas. The emptying of the litter containers is performed by a mix of municipal SWMD staff, garbage collection contractors for the SWMD and by municipal TSD staff.

At this time, it makes operational and economic sense to consolidate the management of the litter containers into the SWMD since litter collection is part of this division's core business. Consolidation of this function will also eliminate any confusion amongst City Councillors and their constituents as to which division of the Works and Emergency Services Department is responsible for the management of litter containers.

There are financial benefits to the City in avoided replacement and maintenance costs as well as potential revenues from the sale of advertising on the new litter containers and the sale of the existing containers, should Council decide to go with an OMG-type Info-Box litter container. It is difficult to provide precise figures with respect to the avoided costs and the potential revenues that could be generated. However, if 50 percent of the existing litter container locations are deemed appropriate for the Info-Box type of litter container, the annual avoided replacement and maintenance costs would be approximately $75,000.00.

Conclusions:

This report requests approval to put out a Request for Proposals for the supply, installation and maintenance of street litter containers with an advertising component, and to consolidate the management of the existing litter containers into the Solid Waste Management Services Division from the Transportation Services Division. The consolidation would be completed by mid-1999.

Contact Name:

Steve Whitter, Director, Solid Waste Collections, Districts 1 and 2

Solid Waste Management Services Division

Phone: (416) 392-1950; Fax: (416) 392-0396

email: swhitter@toronto.ca.

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The Works and Utilities Committee reports, for the information of Council, having also had before it during consideration of the foregoing matter the following communications:

(i)(December 14, 1998) from the City Clerk advising that the East York Community Council on December 9, 1998, had before it a communication dated December 3, 1998, from Councillor Betty Disero requesting the East York Community Council to provide comments to the Works and Utilities Committee with respect to advertising on new garbage receptacles; and further advising that the East York Community Council:

(1)wishes to participate in such project and, further, recommends that a Request for Proposals (RFP) may be the best way for the City to proceed; and

(2)received the aforementioned communication;

(ii)(December 16, 1998) from the City Clerk advising that the Scarborough Community Council on December 9, 1998, had before it a communication from Councillor Betty Disero requesting that the Community Council consider the issue of advertising on garbage receptacles as a pilot project in Scarborough and forward any comments thereon to the Works and Utilities Committee; and further advising that the Scarborough Community Council has concerns respecting the impact of these types of containers on its neighborhoods, and suggests to the Works and Utilities Committee that it not let one large contract for the City but, rather, come forward with recommended districts for the implementation of this proposal;

(iii)(January 12, 1999) from Ms. Lisa McGee, General Manager, Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area, submitting comments and concerns with respect to advertising on litter containers; and requesting that should the City pursue litter bin advertising, the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area be consulted prior to any installations within its BIA; and

(iv)(undated) from OMG Media advising that OMG Media does not concur with some of the information contained in the staff report recommending that a Request for Proposals be issued for the supply, installation and maintenance of litter containers; providing an alternate strategy for this project through the use of Info-Boxes; and proposing that the Committee reconsider the recommendations in the report in consideration of the aforementioned proposals by OMG Media.

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The following persons appeared before the Works and Utilities Committee in connection with the foregoing matter:

-Councillors Doug Holyday, Markland - Centennial; and

-Councillor George Mammoliti, North York Humber.