Blue box program in area will no longer be managed by Waterloo Region

Waterloo Region says there will be a shift in the way blue box materials are handled although there will be little change to how it will affect residents.

As part of a push from the province, the program will no longer be managed by the region but will now fall to Circular Materials, a not-for-profit organization that was started by grocers and food manufacturers, among others.

The province wants producers to be fully responsible “for the end-of-life management of blue box materials,” according to a release from the region.

“This community has a proud history as the birthplace of the blue box program,” Chair Karen Redman stated.

“As we transition to producer-responsible recycling, our focus remains on increasing landfill diversion and the continued promotion and adoption of the 4Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover.”

Collection will not change as a result of the move, however beginning on Saturday, there will be a new contacts in case of any issues.

Those who live in the tri-city area will now contact Miller Waste Systems at area22@millerwaste.ca or call 1-888-852-3450.

Those who live in the townships will be asked to call Emterra Environmental at customercareont@emterra.ca or call 1-888-587-1541.

The recycling program across the province is slowly moving to the new framework which is to be in place by December of next year.

“In this new extended producer responsibility framework, producers will be fully financially and operationally responsible for collecting and recycling blue box materials,” the region says.