A processor is a person who processes blue box material that was supplied to a consumer in Ontario for the purposes of resource recovery.
Under the Blue Box Regulation, processors work with producers (or producer responsibility organizations operating on their behalf), who are required to establish and operate a collection and management system for blue box materials.
For the purposes of resource recovery, processing includes but is not limited to:
- Sorting
- Bailing paper and cardboard shredding
- Plastic reprocessing including grinding, washing, pelletizing, compounding, etc.
- Crushed glass reprocessing
- Aluminum and steel reprocessing
What are my obligations under the Blue Box Regulation?
RPRA uses a risk-based approach to determine processor compliance for registration and reporting purposes, as set out in its Risk-Based Compliance Framework. At this time, RPRA has determined that our compliance priority will be to register material recovery facilities (MRFs) that process Blue Box materials supplied to consumers in Ontario for personal, family or household use, as well as MRFs that process beverage containers supplied to consumers in Ontario for personal, family, household or business use.
Secondary processors are not a compliance priority for RPRA at this time. We will provide more guidance on which secondary processors will need to register with RPRA and what recovered resource data will need to be reported at a later date.
Click the headings below to learn more about your obligations as a Blue Box processor.
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.