Ontario Blue Box changes leave small businesses scrambling for recycling

Some new items can be recycled, but leaves gaps for some commercial businesses. Reta Ismail reports.

Changes to Ontario’s Blue Box recycling program that took effect Jan. 1 are leaving hundreds of small businesses without curbside recycling service.

Under the new system, the province has shifted responsibility for residential recycling collection away from municipalities and onto producers, the companies that supply packaging and paper to residents. While residential pickup continues under the new model, businesses are excluded.

Quarter Master Natural Foods in London’s Wortley Village is among nearly 535 local small businesses that no longer receive curbside Blue Box collection. Owner Tim MacMillan says, despite raising concerns about the changes last year, businesses are now being left to sort it out on their own.

“There is no option really for me, short of hiring a private contractor to come pick up our cardboard or me physically taking the cardboard out to some form of a recycling service,” said MacMillan.

Some Wortley Village business owners say they were unaware the changes had taken effect, with some putting recycling out for collection this week.

“I had no idea actually, no knowledge of this until just now. Just today,” said Sweet Onion Bistro owner Cleopatra Camara.

As of Jan. 1, responsibility for the Blue Box Program shifted from cities to producers. In London, residential recycling collection is no longer managed by the city. Circular Materials is now responsible for overseeing curbside residential recycling collection and processing.

However, under provincial regulations, businesses are not included in curbside pickup. Allen Langdon, CEO of Circular Materials, said businesses must make their own arrangements.

“It’d be either municipalities that would want to step in or the individual businesses themselves would have to make arrangements to secure recycling service. But it’s not something we can provide,” Langdon said.

In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson for the Minister of Environment, Conservation, and Parks said Producer Responsibility Organizations have never been responsible for collecting Blue Box materials from industrial, commercial, or institutional sources.

“In some communities, municipalities have chosen to offer small-business recycling on their own initiative, and they can continue to do so,” the statement said.

Despite discussion at city council, London City Hall has yet to announce a solution for affected businesses. MacMillan said he has reached out to his councillor but has not received a response.

“And I’ve subsequently reached out to my councillor to see if we can’t get some positive outcome here. And really, it’s been kind of crickets from City Hall,” he said.

In the meantime, business owners worry the changes could discourage recycling altogether.

“I think that we should all be working collectively together. The communities, the city, the provincial government to do better and to not leave a footprint and to be able to encourage people to recycle,” Camara said.

“And I’m afraid that this is going to do quite the opposite.”