What's In
You can help make recycling work even better by learning what can and can’t go in your blue box. Local recycling programs operated as part of the province’s Blue Box Program collect most paper and the packaging that contains the items we use every day. These include newspapers, magazines and catalogues, cardboard, like pizza and TV boxes, plastic bottles, jugs and jars, and aluminum food and beverage cans. What you can put in your blue box depends on where you live – and what your municipality accepts.
Most but not all municipalities, for example, collect gabled milk and juice cartons and containers. Some municipalities collect limited polystyrene, such as clear bakery “clamshells”, while some collect a full range of polystyrene containers and packaging – things like hot drink cups, cutlery and foam packing “peanuts”. Others accept Styrofoam (a brand name for a type of foam polystyrene) only if it isn’t food-related and still others don’t accept polystyrene at all.
The lesson? When in doubt, don’t throw it out: visit our virtual house to learn more about the recyclables in every room of your house. Before you toss something in the garbage or in your Blue Box, find out what’s recyclable and what’s excluded from recycling in your community.
