Blue Box

First Nation Communities

In the Blue Box Regulation, an eligible community is a reserve that is registered by a First Nation with the Authority and not located in the Far North, or a local municipality or local services board area that is not located in the Far North.

All First Nation communities that wish to receive producer-run Blue Box services must register with the Authority. This applies to communities that currently provide Blue Box services, either under Stewardship Ontario’s Blue Box Program Plan or outside of the Blue Box Program Plan, and those that do not currently have a program.

For First Nation communities that currently provide Blue Box services, producers are responsible for delivering these services starting July 1, 2023 through to December 31, 2025. The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks will be engaging with First Nation communities to confirm their preferred transition dates and add them to the Transition Schedule.

For First Nation communities that do not currently have a Blue Box program, producers are required to make an offer of Blue Box collection to communities that have registered with the Authority as of January 1, 2026.

How to register with the Authority

First Nation communities interested in receiving producer-run Blue Box services must register with the Authority. To register, communities must complete the registration form below and email it as an attachment to registry@rpra.ca.

What do First Nation communities need to report?

First Nation communities that have registered with the Authority are required to submit an Initial Report with information about their current Blue Box collection systems to the Authority.

First Nation communities must also submit a Transition Report with further information about their current Blue Box collection systems to the Authority ahead of their transition date. This information will be submitted at different times, depending on the year in which a community transitions to the new framework. The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks will be engaging with First Nation communities to confirm their preferred transition dates and add them to the Transition Schedule.

Detailed guidance, including when and how to report, will be provided to all communities ahead of these reporting dates.

Click on the headings below for more information on reporting requirements.

First Nation communities are required to submit the following information as part of the Initial Report:

  1. The number of residents and residences in the eligible community.
  2. The municipality, local services board, First Nation or other entity that provides the WDTA Blue Box Program and garbage collection in the eligible community.
  3. The contact information of the person responsible for waste management in the eligible community.
  4. The number of residences that received collection services pursuant to the WDTA Blue Box Program in the eligible community.
  5. The criteria or conditions used to determine which facilities were included in the WDTA Blue Box Program as of August 15, 2019.
  6. The number of facilities in the eligible community that received collection services pursuant to the WDTA Blue Box Program.
  7. The number of Blue Box receptacles in a public space in the eligible community that receive collection under the WDTA Blue Box Program.

The requirements for the Initial Report are set out in Section 54 of the regulation.

Detailed guidance on how to report to the Authority will be provided to First Nation communities ahead of the reporting date.

First Nation communities are required to submit the following information as part of the Transition Report:

  1. The location of residences that receive curbside garbage collection in the eligible community.
  2. The location of residences that receive depot garbage collection in the eligible community.
  3. The location of every garbage depot collection site in the eligible community.
  4. The location of residences that receive curbside collection under the WDTA Blue Box Program in the eligible community.
  5. The location of residences that receive depot collection under the WDTA Blue Box Program in the eligible community.
  6. The location of facilities in the eligible community that receive collection services pursuant to the WDTA Blue Box Program.
  7. A description of a method pursuant to which additional information about the addresses of residences and facilities in the eligible community that receive collection under its garbage collection program and the WDTA Blue Box Program can be provided.
  8. The location of each Blue Box receptacle in a public space in the eligible community that received collection under the WDTA Blue Box Program.
  9. A list of materials that are collected under the WDTA Blue Box Program in the eligible community.
  10. The frequency at which residences in the eligible community receive collection under the WDTA Blue Box Program.
  11. The number of collection streams in the eligible community under the WDTA Blue Box Program.
  12. The location of every depot collection site in the eligible community under the WDTA Blue Box Program.
  13. The languages used for communications about the WDTA Blue Box Program in the eligible community.

The requirements for the Initial Report are set out in Section 55 of the regulation.

Detailed guidance on how to report to the Authority will be provided to First Nation communities ahead of the reporting dates.

If there is a change to the information submitted in either the Initial Report or Transition Report, the applicable First Nation community is required to submit the updated information to the Authority through a Change Report. More information on how to submit a Change Report will be provided in the future.

Information on Stewardship Ontario’s Blue Box Program

Stewardship Ontario will continue to operate the Blue Box Program on behalf of stewards until December 31, 2025, once all municipalities and First Nation communities have transitioned their programs to the new framework. Visit Stewardship Ontario’s website for more information on the transition of the current program, and direct any operational inquiries to: werecycle@stewardshipontario.ca.

For further 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 Program page.