Changes to the city’s blue box program are coming – but not right away.
Members of Hamilton’s Waste Management Subcommittee heard Tuesday that GFL Environmental officially takes over as the provider for the city's recycling program on of April 1.
“On that date, the city will no longer be responsible for blue box collection and processing of recycled materials at the city's material recycling facility,” Ryan Kent, manager of waste policy and planning, told committee members.
Municipalities across Ontario are shifting to a province-wide “producer responsibility” model for recycling collection through Circular Materials Ontario (CMO).
The main change residents will see right away, noted Kent, will be how they obtain or replace a blue box as they will have to contact GFL, rather than the local municipal office. Staff are still confirming the process to do this, he added.
GFL will not immediately be able to make any significant program changes, such as changes to collection days or what's acceptable in the blue box program, said Kent.
Additional changes effective April 1, 2025 include:
- Residents and property managers will now call GFL Environmental for missed recycling pickups and other enquiries, such as when they get an “oops” sticker on their blue box.
- Residents who want additional blue boxes will need to purchase them.
- Property owners and managers will contact Circular Materials for education pieces such as posters.
- Residents will no longer be able to drop off bulky plastic items at Community Recycling Centres.
- Businesses will no longer be able to drop off cardboard at transfer stations.
During the transition period, blue box collection will continue for businesses and other non-eligible properties. Residents will still be allowed to drop off blue box materials at Community Recycling Centres. And although GFL will be responsible for providing replacement or additional blue boxes, the city will have some inventory available during early part of the transition period, noted Kent.
He noted that the department’s education campaign for residents launched on Feb. 10, and additional resources will be available to inform the community in early March, including a kit that councillors can use to update their constituents.
“There's a lot of different pieces that we're using to educate residents to make sure that they are aware, including the website, mobile signs and other sources,” said Kent.
City staff continue to work with GFL Environmental on pricing and details around the collection of non-eligible properties such as businesses after Jan. 1, 2026, as well as whether recyclables will be collected at Community Recycling Centres.
