What are the changes to blue and black bin recycling in Ottawa, starting on Jan. 1, 2026?

🔄 What’s changing (as of Jan. 1, 2026)

• Starting January 1, 2026, the collection of blue-box and black-box recycling in Ottawa will no longer be done by the city. Instead, it will be taken over by Circular Materials, under a new province-wide recycling program.

• The actual curbside collection will be provided by a private contractor: Miller Waste Services.

  
  

✅ What stays the same (for residents)

• You keep using the same blue and black bins you already have. There’s no need to swap for new containers.

• Recycling pickup will still occur on the same day as before — just the truck and collection operator may change.

  
  

📦 What’s new: expanded recycling — more types of “blue-box” items are now accepted

Under the new provincial plan, the list of acceptable recycling items will be expanded. Items you may now be able to recycle include: coffee cups (paper or plastic-lined), plastic bags, toothpaste tubes, deodorant containers, ice-cream tubs, black plastic containers, frozen juice containers, and other packaging.

Because of this expansion, residents are encouraged to:

• Rinse and dry containers before putting them in bins.

• Flatten and bundle cardboard when possible to save space.

• Keep lids and labels on containers if they’re recyclable; some items still need sorting.

• Avoid placing hazardous waste, batteries, or medical sharps in the bins — those still require special disposal.

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📞 Administration & contact changes:

• After Jan. 1, 2026, residents should no longer contact the City of Ottawa for recycling issues (missed pickups, broken bins, exchanges, etc.). All recycling-related services and communications will be handled by Circular Materials / Miller Waste Services.

• The city indicates that service requests and inquiries will be redirected to the new provider once the program switches over.

  
  

🎯 Why the change: shift to a producer-managed system

This change is part of a broader shift in Ontario’s recycling policy: under new provincial regulations, the responsibility for collecting and processing paper and packaging recyclables is moving away from municipalities and onto the “producers” — i.e. the companies that make or sell the packaged materials. The idea is to create a simpler, more consistent recycling system across Ontario, with improved recycling outcomes.