Blue Box

The Government of Ontario has finalized the Blue Box Regulation under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016, requiring producers to operate and pay for the collection and reuse, refurbishment and recycling of Blue Box materials. On April 14, 2022, the government made amendments to the regulation to clarify the process for creating the province-wide system for collecting Blue Box materials that will be operated by producer responsibility organizations (or PROs) on behalf of producers.

As of July 1, 2023, when municipalities and First Nation communities start transitioning their Blue Box programs to the new framework, Blue Box producers will become fully accountable and financially responsible for collecting and recycling their Blue Box materials when consumers discard them.

The current recycling program for Blue Box materials operated by Stewardship Ontario on behalf of stewards under the Blue Box Program Plan and Waste Diversion Transition Act, 2016 will transition to the new regulatory framework for resource recovery starting on July 1, 2023 through to December 31, 2025. During the transition, Stewardship Ontario will continue to administer the program on behalf of stewards, and residents will not see any disruption in the Blue Box services provided by their municipalities.

Visit our Blue Box Program page for information about the current program operated by Stewardship Ontario, including the Blue Box Program Plan and other program documents, the Blue Box Steward Funding Obligation, the Municipal Funding Allocation Model (MFAM), the InKind Advertising Program and Datacall.

Visit our Blue Box Regulation page for information about the new regulation, including what materials are obligated, regulatory requirements for specific roles (e.g. producer, PRO, processor, municipality, First Nation community), key dates and deadlines, and FAQs.