On June 4, 2025, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (Ministry) proposed several amendments to the Blue Box Regulation (BBR) to (i) both delay the implementation of and reduce materials management requirements; (ii) abandon the previously planned expansion of the blue box program; and (iii) remove the printed educational material requirement. The proposed Amendments to the Blue Box Regulation are open for consultation until July 4, 2025.
Current Extended Producer Responsibilities (EPR) in Ontario
Under the current BBR, producers of blue box material (i.e., packaging, packaging-like products and beverage containers made of glass, plastic, metal and paper) were responsible for all aspects of its collection and recycling. Producer responsibilities were to be phased in, as follows:
- Phase I. Transition: Starting in July 2023, producers were required to make “best efforts” to recover (recycle and market for re-use) a certain percentage of each type of blue box material collected from residential sources that were previously served by municipal recycling programs.
- Phase II. Full EPR: Starting in January 2026, producers were expected to meet mandatory recovery targets for each type of blue box material they produce, and collection responsibilities were to expand to non-residential sources and facilities that were not served by municipal recycling programs.
Proposed amendments to Ontario BBR
Citing high inflation, labor shortages and a lack of recycling infrastructure and capabilities which would render compliance with Phase II of the Ontario EPR program cost prohibitive and practically infeasible, the Ministry is proposing to significantly scale back Phase II requirements.
Delaying and reducing materials management requirements
- Delay mandatory recovery targets until 2031: Implementation of mandatory recovery targets will be pushed back to 2031 and increased in 2035.[1] Additionally, the Ministry is considering removing the “best efforts” requirement and instead mandating that all collected material must be sent to a processor, which aligns with EPR programs in other provinces.[2]
- Reduce flexible plastic recovery target to only 5% starting in 2031: Flexible plastic was not commonly collected in municipal recycling programs prior to the promulgation of the current BBR. Accordingly, Ontario does not have the infrastructure to make the current recovery target for flexible plastic (25% in 2026) a practical reality.
- Energy recovery to count toward mandatory recovery targets: Currently, materials that are used in energy recovery activities (used as a direct fuel-source in incineration), are not considered ‘recovered’ for the purposes of the BBR’s enforceable recovery targets. The amendments would allow non-recyclable materials to be sent for energy recovery and count toward 15% of producers’ mandatory recovery targets.[3]
Abandoning the planned expansion of the blue box system
- Blue Box system will not expand to include facilities that did not have municipal blue box services prior to the implementation of the BBR: The BBR was set to expand collection to multi-residential buildings, certain long-term care and retirement homes and schools in 2026. The Ministry proposes to abandon this on grounds that the facilities in question may access private recycling services.[4]
- Public space collection requirements will be removed: Phase 2 would have required producers to add and service new recycling bins in public spaces starting in 2026.[5]
- Remove ‘away from home’ requirement for beverage containers: The BBR is currently drafted such that producers of beverage containers are required to collect and recover beverage containers from sources other than residential blue boxes. The Ministry proposes to remove ‘away from home’ collection obligations due to a concern that there is no cost-effective means to effect this.[6]
Removing requirement for printed promotional and educational materials
Producers will no longer have to supply hard copies of materials to educate and promote blue box programs in Ontario, unless they are specifically requested to do so. Instead, such material can be made available online.[7]
Seeking feedback regarding transparency and accountability of producer responsibility organizations (PROs)
As noted above, the Ministry is consulting on the above-noted proposed amendments to the BBR. The Ministry is also seeking inputs on measures to ensure more transparency from PROs on system costs and operations and accountability for performance-based outcomes.[8]
Please contact Yulia Konarski or Emma Fillman if you have any questions about the BBR or extended producer responsibility in Canada.
[1] Proposed Amendments to the BBR, Item 1.
[2] Proposed Amendments to the BBR, Item 7.
[3] Proposed Amendments to the BBR, Item 5.
[4] Proposed Amendments to the BBR, Item 2.
[5] Proposed Amendments to the BBR, Item 4.
[6] Proposed Amendments to the BBR, Item 3.
[7] Proposed Amendments to the BBR, Item 12.
[8] Proposed Amendments to the BBR, page 16.
