Non-profit group takes over recycling in Kawartha Lakes
Residential collection is now being provided by Circular Materials
Kawartha Lakes has turned over community recycling collection and recycling customer service to a third party.
Residential recycling collection is now being provided by Circular Materials under a new provincewide system which shifts the responsibility of recycling programs to the producers of recycling waste (packaging).
Circular Materials is a national not-for-profit organization that builds recycling systems where materials are collected, recycled and returned to producers to use as recycled content in new packaging and paper.
It is committed to increasing recycling rates across Ontario and ensuring more materials are looped into the circular economy, benefiting both people and the environment.
Presently, there are no changes in recycling services for residents. Collection will remain the same day, and there will not be any difference as to what can or cannot be recycled.
Blue box (container) and green box (paper/fibre) recycling will continue to be picked up on alternating weeks, unchanged from the current collection schedule.
For recycling collection and processing services in Kawartha Lakes, Circular Materials has hired Miller Waste, the same company previously contracted by the municipality for recycling curbside collection and processing.
By utilizing the same recycling collector the municipality was already using, Circular Materials isn’t expecting any major issues as the municipality transitions to extended producer responsibility (EPR) recycling.
EPR is a policy approach in which producers — the businesses that supply packaging and paper — are responsible for the end-of-life management of their materials.
Historically, Ontario’s blue box programs were operated by municipalities that were responsible for paying about half of the costs of the program, with producers responsible for the other half.
In 2021, the Ontario government released the Blue Box Regulation, which shifts the financial and operational responsibility of recycling programs solely to producers.
Transition to EPR will take place between 2023 and 2025, with the new framework fully in place by Jan. 1, 2026.
For inquiries related to missed pickups, bin replacements or general recycling questions, call Miller Waste at 1-888-557-4711 or email kawarthalakes@millerwaste.ca.
Residents using the Recycle Coach mobile app will still be provided with a personalized waste and recycling schedule, and will continue to receive notifications for waste and recycling collection changes, pickup delay and upcoming special collection days.
The app also has a built in “What Goes Where” tool to help residents better sort their waste and recycling.
Residents are asked to go to circularmaterials.ca/kawarthalakes for recycling collection and service information.
To learn more about EPR recycling, visit kawarthalakes.ca/EPR.