King Township will transition to a new recycling collection system next year as part of a province-wide initiative to provide consistent recycling services and allow more materials to be recycled in more communities.
Starting Jan. 1, 2026, producers of recyclable materials will be operationally and financially responsible for residential blue box collection programs across Ontario. This means producers will oversee the collecting, sorting and recycling of all blue box materials. Circular Materials Ontario, a not-for-profit organization appointed by the province, is overseeing this transition.
There will be no changes to King Township’s collection schedule or the materials residents can recycle from now until Dec. 31, 2025.
Starting on Jan. 1, 2026, recycling collection will change from once a week to once every two weeks. This will bring King Township into alignment with all other municipalities in terms of collection frequency. Residential customers will still be able to put the same materials in their recycling containers. Residents will receive a large, wheeled tote in place of their blue box later this year.
There are no changes to other curbside collection services in King, including garbage, green bin organics, large and bulky items and leaf and yard waste.
The Government of Ontario introduced the legislation that transforms the management and collection of Blue Box materials in the province back in 2016. The Blue Box Regulation, enacted under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, is a part of Ontario’s Strategy for a Waste Free Ontario: Building the Circular Economy.
This regulation shifts the current cost-sharing model, which divides expenses between municipal taxpayers and producers of blue box materials, to a new system where producers are fully responsible for funding, operating, and meeting performance targets for the recycling program. Producers will be accountable for collecting and recycling blue box materials, reporting to the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA) and achieving progressively higher recycling targets.
By placing the full financial, operational and performance responsibility on producers, this new approach creates a direct incentive to minimize waste and enhance recycling efforts, leading to reduced natural resource extraction, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
King Township is committed to supporting a smooth transition of the blue box program and will keep the community informed of updates before any changes come into effect.
