Ontario's Blue Box finished its transition to full producer responsibility on 31 December 2025, when Stewardship Ontario wound up. Circular Materials and other producer responsibility organisations now run collection under the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority, and the expanded list includes paper coffee cups, black plastic and toothpaste tubes.
Honest caveat: what gets recycled versus sorted out still depends on local facilities; producer responsibility changes who pays, not the chemistry. In September 2025 Ontario lowered its target for recycling soft plastic packaging to 10% for 2026 and 2027, let up to 15% of a producer's target be met by burning waste for energy, and delayed new collection at schools, care homes and flats in places not served before to 2031 (Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority). Canada's federal single-use plastics ban remains in force after the Federal Court of Appeal reversed a 2023 ruling on 30 January 2026.
How to start: rpra.ca/programs/blue-box/ (programme rules); check your municipality for the current list.