Tim Hortons’ cups are landfill, not recyling: City

In the coming weeks, Kawartha Lakes will begin to implement new changes to the curbside waste and recycling collection.

This includes new rules around disposing certain items, such as Styrofoam products and coffee cups.

Beginning September 2020, Canada Fibres Ltd. will manage Kawartha Lakes’ Material Recycling Facility (MRF). A MRF is a specialized plant that receives, separates and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to end-user manufacturers.

Although the municipality works to divert as many items as possible, there are a few that have a history of difficult end markets and will no longer be accepted in the recycling stream, according to a city press release.

Starting in August, Kawartha Lakes will slowly phase out the acceptance of the following items for recycling collection:

• Disposable coffee cups (for example, Tim Hortons’ coffee cups) are no longer recyclable and should be disposed of as waste. Plastic lids and paper sleeves can still be disposed of in the appropriate recycling streams.
• Styrofoam products (such as meat trays and electronic packaging) are no longer recyclable and should be disposed of as waste.
• Empty aerosol cans are no longer recyclable and shall be disposed of as household hazardous waste at either the Lindsay Ops Landfill or Fenelon landfill.

Effective September 7, your curbside collection could be left behind if these items are improperly disposed of in your waste and recycling.

In addition to the changes above, the municipality will no longer accept clear waste bags curbside with more than 10 per cent recyclable materials inside. A decision was made by Council in early 2020 to reduce the allowable limit down from 20 per cent to 10 per cent to continue to promote the diversion of improper items ending up at our landfills.

“It is essential that the municipality implements sustainable practices for managing all waste streams. Landfill resources are costly to create and are non-renewable, with continued expense to manage closed locations,” says Bryan Robinson, director of public works.

“That is why it is critical we continue to focus on new and innovative ways to help prolong landfill operational life. By diverting unnecessary materials from our landfills, we are helping further extend the life of each site.”

To learn more about the upcoming changes to waste and recycling, please visit the Waste 2020 web page. Should you have any questions regarding your curbside collection, reach out to the municipality by emailing or contact customer service at 705-324-9411.