Blue Box Transition to Producer Responsibility

The blue box program across Ontario is now the responsibility of the companies that make or import recycling products (the Producer).

On behalf of the Producers, Circular Materials Ontario (CMO) now manages and is responsible for the blue box recycling program at the Curbside and in the Transfer Stations. CMO has contracted Emterra Environmental to continue with curbside collection in Peterborough County.

For any blue box-related curbside collection questions or concerns (including missed collection), instead of contacting the County or the Township, please only contact Emterra Environmental at 1-888-597-1541. Emterra is wholly responsible for curbside collection, and providing blue boxes:
https://twitter.com/emterragroup https://www.emterra.ca/

If for some reason a query with Emterra needs to be escalated, residents can contact Circular Materials Ontario (CMO)’s customer service email/phone line:
customerservice@circularmaterials.ca or 1-877-667-2626
Website: https://www.circularmaterials.ca/

The North Kawartha Transfer Stations will continue to collect blue box recycling from North Kawartha residents as part of the Producer Responsibility transition.

North Kawartha Blue Box Recycling Program Changes Effective January 1, 2026

Beginning January 1, 2026, all North Kawartha non-eligible source Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) Blue Box Recycling customers, may take their Blue Box Recycling to the Haultain or Anstruther Transfer Station, FREE of charge.

The Township of North Kawartha is advising residents and local businesses of the upcoming changes to the Producer Responsibility Blue Box Recycling program that will permanently come into effect January 1, 2026, as the province-wide two-year transition to the Producer Responsibility Blue Box Recycling program, comes to an end.

Under Ontario’s updated Blue Box Recycling program, blue box recycling collection is now the responsibility of the Producers which will administered by Circular Materials Ontario (CMO). As a result, only residential sources will continue to be eligible for blue box recycling collection, either at the Curbside or in the Transfer Stations.

What Is Changing under the NEW Producer Responsibility Blue Box Recycling Program:

Beginning January 1, 2026:

Residential Blue Box Recycling will continue for all residential households at both the Curbside and Transfer Stations.
Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) properties, also referred to as non-eligible sources, will no longer be eligible to participate in the Producer Blue Box Recycling program, either at the Curbside or in the Transfer Stations.

This change applies across Ontario and is not specific to North Kawartha.

North Kawartha Solution for Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) Properties:

At the Council meeting on December 2, 2025, Township of North Kawartha Council approved a local solution to support all North Kawartha Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) properties.

As per the direction of Council, Staff will coordinate the placement of roll-off bins at both the Haultain and Anstruther Transfer Station, that are solely for non-eligible source IC&I Blue Box Recycling Collection. IC&I blue box recycling collection must be kept separate from eligible residential sources, but it will still be recycled and processed within the same blue box recycling markets. Furthermore, the Township will continue to track and record IC&I weights for diversion percentages and credits.

This decision ensures that local businesses, institutions, and other non-eligible sources will continue to have access to blue box recycling services within the Township, unlike many other communities through-out the Province.

It is important that all Non-Eligible Source (IC&I) Blue Box Recycling customers, follow the direction of Transfer Station Staff, as their blue box recycling will be collected in separate roll-off containers at each Transfer Station, and not the traditional recycling bins used at each Transfer Station.

What This Means for the Community

Residents: There will be no change to residential Blue Box recycling service, either at the Curbside or in the Transfer Stations.
Businesses and Institutions: IC&I properties may take their blue box recycling to either Transfer Station free of charge, where it will be collected in separate roll-off containers. Or, IC&I customers may plan for alternative recycling arrangements, such as private recycling collection services.

For full details regarding the change for all North Kawartha Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) properties, please follow the below link.

North Kawartha non-eligible source Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) Blue Box Recycling customers

The Township will continue to work with Circular Materials Ontario and our MPP, as the Blue Box Recycling Program Develops.

Who should I contact about my recycling?

Contact Emterra Environmental at 1-888-597-1541 for any questions about your recycling including missed collections, recycling inquiries, and new blue boxes.

What is Producer Responsibility?

Producer Responsibility means producers – the companies that design, create and market products and packaging – are fully responsible for managing and paying for the life cycle of their products and packaging. Producer Responsibility looks at the entire life-cycle of a product to ensure effective production and management of packaging to reduce overall waste. Additional information (including video) is available by clicking here.

Why is this being implemented in Ontario?

The province’s intention with this shift is to make recycling easier for people and to ensure that the recycling program remains viable over the long-term by:

Ensuring a common collection system, province-wide

Creating a standard list of materials that can be recycled across the province
Saving taxpayers money by transitioning recycling programs from municipal management to producer management
Promoting waste diversion by setting province-wide targets
Innovating new and alternative collection methods to divert materials that currently can't be recycled in the blue box

Timelines

Peterborough County (which includes the Township of North Kawartha) will transition on January 1, 2024.

The transition to Producer Responsibility in Ontario began July 1, 2023, with producers becoming fully responsible for providing recycling services province-wide by the end of 2025. 

The province has set out timelines for when each municipality will transition during this period. When our transition occurs next year, we will work closely with producers to ensure the seamless provision of recycling services for Peterborough County residents.

In 2026, there will be new enhancements to the blue box program, including:

Ontarians will be able to recycle more types of materials and this list of materials will be the same across the province for the first time
There will be free blue box collection for schools (public, separate, and private that teach Kindergarten to Grade 12), non-profit retirement and long-term care homes, and multi-residential buildings (e.g., apartments and condos) that are not currently receiving blue box collection

Who will be responsible for blue box collection?

As of January 1, 2024 in Peterborough County the companies that produce blue box materials sold in Ontario will be responsible and held accountable for collecting these materials and recycling them into new products.

These companies, also known as Producers, will fulfill their regulatory obligations collectively through Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs). The PROs have come together to run a single, new, province-wide common collection system. The approved common collection system administrator is a non-profit company called Circular Materials.

Circular Materials will be responsible for the collection of blue box materials from homes and residential buildings across Ontario.

Circular Materials will hold contracts with collection companies to pick up the blue box material. Details are still being worked out on which company will be the collection contractor in Peterborough County.

Contact Emterra Environmental at 1-888-597-1541 for any questions about your recycling including missed collections, recycling inquiries, and new blue boxes.

How will this impact my recycling collection?

Producers will be responsible for the collection of materials currently going into your blue boxes. The province has indicated that, once producers are fully responsible for the program, Ontarians will experience the same or improved access to recycling services across the province. Peterborough County will be communicating with residents throughout 2023, as more information becomes available, to support seamless transition of the local recycling system to producers by January 1, 2024.

With this transition, Peterborough County will no longer directly offer blue box recycling services. The only change residents will see through the transition period is a new contact to call when you have questions, or concerns with your blue box pick up or when you need a new blue box.