Starting next summer, Torontonians will be paying for the amount of trash they toss, instead of shelling out money for garbage collection as part of their property taxes.

After debating the idea for more than a day, city council approved the new garbage fee system 26-18 at a meeting Wednesday. The city, however, still needs to obtain permission from the province to reduce property taxes.

Households putting more than 75 litres of garbage on the curb will have to fork over from $41 to $151 extra a year starting next summer.
(CBC)

No additional fees will be charged for those who use the smallest bins, which holds a single bag of garbage.

Each household will have a choice of four bins, ranging in size from 75 to 360 litres. Homeowners will still pay $209 annually, with fees on top of that depending on the container.

Those who choose the 120-litre bin, which holds 1½ full garbage bags, will pay $41 extra annually, while the largest bin, holding 4½ bags, will cost users about $150 extra.

The city hopes the pay-as-you-throw system will encourage residents to recycle more as part of the city's plan to divert more garbage from landfills.