Blue Box and recycling changes effective Jan. 1
Changes to Ontario’s Blue Box program took effect on January 1, 2026, including updates to accepted materials and recycling collection services in Kawartha Lakes. This change is part of a province-wide shift under Ontario’s Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016, which makes producers responsible for the collection, processing and recycling of products and packaging.
“This is a significant shift happening across Ontario,” said Heather Dzurko, manager of waste management for the City of Kawartha Lakes. “We’re committed to ensuring that residents and businesses in Kawartha Lakes have the information and support they need as recycling services transition to Circular Materials Ontario.”
A new recycling collector, Emterra Environmental, will be picking up recycling from homes across Kawartha Lakes on behalf of Circular Materials Ontario (CMO). Garbage collection will continue with Miller Waste, and both garbage and recycling will still be collected on the same day, just by different trucks.
This also means that Emterra is responsible for recycling inquiries, such as missed collection or damaged bins. Emterra’s contact information, shown below, is available anytime on our residential waste and recycling collection page and the municipal calendar.
Emterra can be contacted at 1-888-597-1541 or .
New materials accepted in the Blue Box
As of Jan. 1, a number of items previously placed in regular waste have moved to recycling.
| New to the Blue (Container) Bin | New to the Green (Paper/Fibre) Bin |
| Cereal bags | Flexible plastics (milk bags, bread bags) |
| Toothpaste tubs, deodorant, hand cream tubes | Chip bags, granola/candy wrappers and bubble wrap |
| Plastic cutlery | |
| Coffee and fast food cups | |
| Pet food bags | |
| Straws | |
| Styrofoam | |
| Small item plastic packaging | |
| Empty aerosol containers |
For a list of all recyclable materials, see the what goes where insert within the municipal calendar or the recycle coach app.
Curbside recycling collection under the new program is limited to residential properties only. Recycling collection is no longer provided to:
- Private-sector businesses
- Commercial portions of mixed-use buildings
- Places of worship
- Commercial farms
- Municipal buildings and facilities
- Non-profit organizations (e.g., shelters, food banks)
- Daycares and post-secondary institutions
These properties can continue to recycle by using the City’s five landfill depot locations (tipping fees apply) or by arranging private recycling collection. For more information, visit the commercial waste collection area of the website.
