The Ontario government is proposing legislative and regulatory changes to the province’s Blue Box program that it says would improve transparency, strengthen accountability and help bring down costs for producers of packaging and paper products.
“Our government is committed to a Blue Box system that ensures Ontario’s small- and medium-sized businesses have the tools they need to forecast and manage their costs more effectively,” said Environment Minister Todd McCarthy. “By bringing greater transparency and accountability to the program, these measures will help deliver more predictability and more sustainability for the long term — while ensuring that producers, and not taxpayers, remain responsible for the waste they create.”
Ontario now has a provincewide Blue Box program funded and run by producers, including multiple producer responsibility organizations that compete to deliver collection and recycling services. The province says the system is facing rising costs.
Proposed changes to the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act would let the province regulate contract terms between those organizations and producers, including the fees producers pay for collecting and processing recyclable materials. The province says that would ensure stable and predictable fees and consistent, fair contract terms, while avoiding surprise fees or changes.
The ministry will also consult with producers, the organizations and the public on proposed regulatory changes. They include stronger transparency requirements for reporting on producer fees and system costs, service requirements such as the allocation of recycling carts and bins, and exploring future collection of hard-to-recycle flexible plastics.
The ministry is also exploring governance changes to strengthen accountability and minimize potential conflicts of interest, including replacing the current administrator with a new independent administrator.
The changes build on actions taken in September 2025, including a decision to gradually phase in recovery targets for flexible plastics. The province says the Blue Box program serves more than five million households.
“Ontario’s competitiveness depends on creating an environment where businesses can invest, grow and create jobs. By reducing red tape and helping to lower unnecessary costs, we are building the most competitive, resilient and self-reliant economy in the G7,” said Red Tape Reduction Minister Andrea Khanjin.
