Torontonians Give Green Light to City Council to Approve Recommendation to Contract Out Trash Collection
West of Yonge Street

Toronto, ON - Torontonians have given the green light to Toronto City Council to approve the recommendation of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee to initially contract out all of the trash collection from the Etobicoke border to Yonge Street, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll released today.

Six in ten (61%) Torontonians `support' the recommendation (30% strongly/31% somewhat), which is twice the proportion that `opposes' (17% strongly/13% somewhat) the recommendation. One in ten (8%) Torontonians doesn't know whether they support or oppose it.

The recommendation concerns the collection of trash between the Etobicoke border and the west side of Yonge Street along with all park trash and recycling pickup, and more of the city's litter vacuuming operations. The contract could be worth over $200 million and last seven to nine years, and staff estimate the city would save around $60 million over the length of the contract through eliminating 300 temporary positions and associated capital costs. The city's unionized municipal employees, as well as private firms, will be allowed to bid on the contract.

A majority of those in every demographic group studied support the recommendation. Regionally speaking, residents of the old borough of Etobicoke (75%) are most likely to support the recommendation, followed by those living in North York (66%), York/East York (59%), Scarborough (57%) and the old city of Toronto (55%). Moreover, two thirds (66%) of homeowners support the recommendation, as does a majority (55%) of renters.

Two thirds (65%) of men and six in ten (58%) women, overall, support the recommendation. Those between the aged of 18 and 34 are most likely (64%) to support it, followed by those aged 35 to 54 (62%) and those over the age of 55 (58%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Ontario Waste Management Association (OWMA) from May 13-15, 2011. For the survey, a representative randomly-selected sample of 500 adult Canadians living in Toronto was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 4.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population of Canada been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age composition reflects that of the actual Toronto population according to Census data.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Public Affairs
416.324.2002
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid

Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals. Ipsos helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world.

Member companies assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media. They measure public opinion around the globe. Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting. Ipsos has a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999. In 2010, Ipsos generated global revenues of e1.140 billion ($1.6 billion U.S.).

Visit www.ipsos-na.com to learn more about Ipsos offerings and capabilities.

Ipsos, listed on the Eurolist of Euronext - Comp B, is part of SBF 120 and the Mid-100 Index, adheres to the Next Prime segment and is eligible to the Deferred Settlement System. Isin FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg IPS:FP