Blue box changes in Stouffville and Markham to support circular economy
By David Yin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Starting next year, Circular Materials will be in charge of blue box collections for municipalities throughout Ontario, including Stouffville and Markham.
Other waste collection systems, such as garbage, green bin, yard waste, Christmas tree, and large item collection, will remain unaffected.
In Stouffville, all blue box changes will begin on Dec. 31. Blue box collections for residential homes will occur every other week, using waste collection trucks with mechanical arms – known as automated collection – instead of human collectors.
All homes will also receive a 95-gallon (360 litre) wheeled cart for blue box recycling.
Those with recyclables left to discard can visit East Gwillimbury Household Hazardous Waste and Recycling Depot, Elgin Mills Community Environmental Centre, Georgina Transfer Station, or McCleary Court Community Environmental Centre.
The Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville will cease all waste collections for Stouffville businesses on Dec. 31. Recycling collections will also stop for downtown businesses, as well as commercial businesses, factories or warehouses, offices or institutions, daycares, educational centres, worship areas, and charities or non-profits.
Business owners affected by this change must hire a private collector to remove their waste or recyclables.
Businesses operated in a person’s home will continue to receive waste and recyclable collection under the residential system only.
In Markham, blue box collections will proceed as normal. However, all blue box-related questions, concerns, or complaints should be directed to Miller Waste, rather than the City of Markham, starting Jan. 1.
The Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville said that it began informing residents and business owners about its blue box changes in early summer.
“We understand that change can be confusing, and we’re here to help as much as we can during this transition,” the town said. “Town staff have been responding to residents’ questions using the information provided by Circular Materials.”
Some communities in Ontario began changing their blue box programs in July 2023, in accordance with Ontario’s Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016.
The act aims to make businesses responsible for collecting and recycling their own products to promote a circular economy, in which organizations reuse otherwise-discarded materials to create new products or materials.
Circular Materials is a non-profit organization founded by 17 food and consumer product companies operating in Canada, such as Costco, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Pepsico, Metro, Loblaws and P&G. It aims to help communities across Canada implement a circular economy by providing services, data analytics, and education.
To stay updated on blue box changes, head to www.townofws.ca/live/garbage-recycling-and-composting/recycling/blue-recycling-boxes/changes-to-blue-box-collection for Stouffville-related changes or www.markham.ca/neighbourhood-services/recycling-garbage/blue-box for Markham-related changes.