Get ready, South Frontenac: Recycle more than ever before starting in 2026!

This information was written and disseminated by Circular Materials.

Circular Materials will launch a unified material list for recycling, including new materials like coffee cups, across the province of Ontario in 2026.

Starting in 2026, Ontario residents will be able to recycle more materials than ever before and recycle the same materials no matter where they live in Ontario. Circular Materials is a national not-for-profit organization that will be responsible for operating Ontario’s new recycling system for packaging and paper products. As the administrator of Ontario’s common collection system, Circular Materials is pleased to introduce these enhancements to recycling across Ontario as the province fully transitions to a new extended producer responsibility (EPR) blue box recycling system.  

Under EPR, Ontario’s new recycling program will be fully funded and operated by producers of packaging and paper products. EPR is recognized as an effective mechanism to improve recycling rates and advance a circular economy where materials are collected, recycled and returned to producers for use as recycled content in new products and packaging. EPR will enable innovation, operational efficiencies, increased standard levels and access to materials. 

For example, last year, Circular Materials announced a pilot for the recycling of both hot and cold paper-based and plastic-lined beverage cups at home and other eligible locations in Toronto. This pilot marked the first step towards incorporating these materials in recycling systems across all cities and communities in Ontario by 2026. 

The pilot has been progressing smoothly and successfully. Early results from the pilot show an 8% increase in collected polycoated paperboard, the material used to make most single-use coffee and other beverage cups. This material is sent to end markets where they are recycled and repurposed into new paper products. 

Thanks to the strong progression of this pilot, starting January 1, 2026, Ontario residents will be able to recycle coffee cups and other hot and cold paper-based and plastic-lined beverage cups province wide.  

Building on this momentum, coffee cups are just one of the new materials being introduced across the province on January 1 as part of Ontario’s new EPR recycling program. Other new materials will include: 

• Deodorant
• Toothpaste tubes
• Ice cream tubs
• Black plastic containers
• Frozen juice containers 

Additionally, Circular Materials will be introducing a unified material list across Ontario. “Currently, materials collected for recycling across Ontario vary from community to community – starting January 1, 2026, Ontario residents will be able to recycle the same and even more materials no matter where they live across Ontario. This will make it easier for residents to recycle, improving recovery rates and benefitting both people and the environment,” says Allen Langdon, CEO, Circular Materials. “The unified material list and new materials included are a great example of how extended producer responsibility advances innovation and improves environmental outcomes.” 

Circular Materials will be communicating more to Ontario residents about the province’s enhanced recycling system via a province-wide communications campaign in the fall. To learn more about Ontario’s new recycling program and recycling in your community, visit circularmaterials.ca/ON.