FAQ

Who is responsible for the Blue Box Program?

In 2002, the province passed the Waste Diversion Act (WDA) to promote the reduction, reuse and recycling of waste in Ontario. The Act established a non-crown agency called Waste Diversion Ontario (WDO) to manage waste diversion programs in conjunction with industry-funded organizations (IFOs), like Stewardship Ontario. We are referred to as an IFO – we’re the first IFO in Ontario actually – because we collect and manage the funding to carry out our mandate on behalf of industry, or the producers and brand owners whose packaging ends up in your blue box. So Stewardship Ontario and other IFOs – like Ontario Electronics Stewardship which deals with e-waste and Ontario Tire Stewardship which deals with used tires – are accountable to Waste Diversion Ontario, which, in turn, is accountable to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.

Who pays for the program?

Currently, the cost of running the Blue Box Program – collecting, transporting and processing your recyclables – is split between the municipalities that administer local recycling programs and the companies (or stewards) that produce the materials or products that end up in curbside recycling boxes.

What is a diversion rate?

The province’s diversion rate is calculated by dividing the amount of waste that is diverted away from landfill sites by the total amount of waste produced (including the amount sent to landfill). When the Blue Box program was launched in 2004, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment established, as the initial program goal, a 50% diversion rate. Since then, the Blue Box Program has continued to increase the percentage of waste that goes to recycling.

Why should I recycle?

The concept is simple: recycling turns products that would otherwise become waste into new products or resources. Garbage is a huge problem in our consumer society, and reducing the mountains of waste that go to landfill addresses this continuing threat to our health and the environment – and the critical shortage of landfill space. In just six years, we’ve diverted 5,300,000 tonnes of waste from landfill sites – that’s the equivalent of 3,595,230 pickup trucks or three rows of pickup trucks stretching end to end from Vancouver, B.C. to St. John’s, Newfoundland. Recycling ensures useful materials aren’t wasted, and reduces the related consumption of raw materials and energy in manufacturing – glass, for example, takes up to 4000 years to decompose in a landfill site, but can be recycled indefinitely. When you take your blue box to the curb, you’re also helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, and protecting our natural resources from depletion. But you’re not only doing the right thing for our environment – you’re also doing the right thing for the economy. In addition to creating jobs, recycling creates a profitable market for recycled materials, an increasingly important commodity in today’s marketplace.

How do I know when my Blue Box materials will be collected?

To find out when recyclables will be collected in your community, contact your municipality. Many centres, including Hamilton, Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto have online collection calendars.

How do I get a recycling bin for my household?

Again, you will need to contact your municipality to find out how your local recycling program works. In most cases, communities provide blue boxes (or their equivalent) free of charge. In some areas, such as Ottawa, damaged recycling boxes can be exchanged at no cost at many Rona and Home Hardware stores. If you’re new to your community, call your municipality for more information.

What happens to our recyclables?

Once recyclables are collected, they’re sorted, baled, and either sold to processors or manufacturers that reuse the materials or recycle them into new products. The revenues individual municipalities get from selling these materials is used to help offset program costs, making the overall Blue Box Program more cost-effective for both municipalities and stewards.

Why aren’t some recyclable items accepted in my blue box?

Certain items, including a growing number of plastics, are hard-to-recycle, and there are few, if any, processors who have the technology to deal with these in a cost-effective way. Other recyclable items don’t have end markets – in other words, there are no manufacturers who want to use the recycled products in their manufacturing processes. As part of its market-development initiative, Stewardship Ontario is currently exploring ways of processing hard-to-recycle materials and identifying new markets for recycled materials.

My municipality accepts glass. Can’t I just put LCBO and Wine Rack bottles in my blue box?

Ontario’s deposit-return program, Bag It Back, which requires you to pay a deposit on every container you purchase, helps offset the cost of recycling wine, beer and spirit containers (including bag in a box, and Tetra Pak containers). Currently, the cost of recycling all the products in your blue box is borne both by municipalities and by our stewards – the companies that produce or sell the containers and packaging that end up in your recycling. Putting your empty wine, spirit and beer containers in your blue box defeats the purpose of the user fee, since the cost of recycling these materials is now transferred to our stewards and your community – and, indirectly, to you as a taxpayer and a consumer. If you don’t want to return these items to The Beer Store, why not consider retaining them for community and charity drives.