Waterloo Region homes will get more blue bins in 2026

What will a new recycling program mean for homeowners? CTV’s Spencer Turcotte breaks it down.

Ontario is moving to a new recycling program in 2026, and for homeowners, that will mean more bins and fewer curbside collections.

The not-for-profit organization, Circular Materials, will be implementing and overseeing the new provincial system.

The first major change is in January when residents will receive two additional blue boxes.

Once the program starts, more materials will be accepted in those recycling bins.

“Such as toothpaste tubes, coffee cups, black plastic containers, frozen juice containers and more,” said Allen Langdon, CEO of Circular Materials.

From January to the end of February, residents in Waterloo Region will continue on their current blue box collection schedule.

But, starting in March, blue box collection will shift to a bi-weekly schedule and be handled by Miller Waste.

This will align with the region’s new cart-based collection system rolling out the same month, and the collection schedule will alternate with recycling.

• Everything you need to know about Waterloo Region’s new garbage and organic cart system

“If people find after they’ve had the bins for a few months that they don’t need the extra bins, they can always bring the bins back to the Miller Waste yard in Cambridge,” Langdon explained.

Circular Materials said they have been in contact with the municipalities, but discussions about the pending changes at a committee meeting in October left regional councillors confused.

“This is a bit of a disaster in many respects for the average person trying to sort out what’s going on and why it’s beneficial to go to a new methodology,” said regional councillor Doug Craig.

Natasha Salonen, another regional councillor and Wilmot’s mayor, said: “I agree this is rather alarming and frankly, I fear this is headed to the direction of the end of recycling in Ontario.”

Since the meeting last month, Circular Materials began a more fulsome communications campaign which included specific details for each community on their website.

“At the end of the day, recycling is still going to be picked up, there is going to be an expanded list of materials available for collection and we certainly want to work with the region, the individual communities and the residents to make sure the transition is as seamless as possible,” Langdon said.