The Government of Ontario has officially finalized a series of amendments to the Blue Box Regulation, introducing phased collection targets and implementation deferrals to ensure a smoother transition for producers and recycling service providers.
Under the amended regulation, Ontario will maintain its existing recovery targets for paper, glass, metal, and rigid plastic materials, with any increases deferred until 2032. Meanwhile, recovery targets for flexible plastics will be phased in gradually starting at 10% for 2026–2027, increasing to 15% for 2028–2031, and reaching 25% from 2032 onward.
The amendments also remove the “away-from-home” collection requirement for beverage containers, with associated target increases deferred until 2032. Producers will be required to make their “best efforts” to meet recovery targets in 2026 and 2027, ensure all collected materials are sent to a registered processor, and submit a progress report to the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA) in 2027 to assess diversion performance.
Collection from multi-residential buildings, schools, and certain long-term care and retirement homes that did not previously receive municipal Blue Box service has been deferred until 2031. Additionally, the requirement to expand collection in public spaces has been removed.
In limited cases, producers may satisfy up to 15% of their management obligations through energy recovery from residuals generated during the recovery process. The amendments also introduce several technical clarifications aimed at improving regulatory clarity and supporting smoother implementation.
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