Blue Box Recycling System

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The Blue Box Recycling System (BBRS) is a waste management system used by municipalities to collect source separated household waste materials for the purpose of recycling.

The first full-scale community wide BBRS was implemented in 1983 by the waste management contractor for the City of Kitchener, Total Recycling Systems Ltd., a subsidiary of Laidlaw Waste Systems. The system was a part of the waste management system in the City.

Today, many municipalities operate Blue Box programs that accept all forms of paper materials, most plastic packaging, glass containers, aluminum cans and steel cans. For example, the City of Greater Napanee accepts:

  • Glass bottles and jars, including all glass containers which previously contained a food or beverage product.
  • Metal food and beverage cans, including all hard shell steel or aluminum containers which previously contained a food or beverage product.
  • Aluminum foil meaning food wrap, food packaging and kitchenware such as pie plates made from a thin sheet of aluminum.
  • Rigid shell plastic containers including Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE#I), High Density Polyethylene (HDPE #2), Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE #4), Polypropylene (PP #5) and Polystyrene (PS #6), which previously contained a non-hazardous consumer product.
  • Rigid foam plastic containers.
  • Newspapers, magazines, flyers and household papers.
  • Old boxboard and old cardboard (non-waxed, flattened & bundled no larger than 30"x3O1'x8").
  • Bundled plastic bags (LDPE).
  • Other material as designated by the Town from time to time.

The municipality provides the Blue Boxes to residents in areas serviced by the recycling program. This usually includes all single-family homes and townhouse units receiving garbage collection. Tenants of apartment buildings typically do not use Blue Boxes but rather deposit their household recyclable materials in larger containers located in or near the building.

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