North Huron council got an update on how the provincial changes to the Blue Box program could impact residents at Tuesday's meeting.
Brad Whitelaw from the Continuous Improvement Fund filled the town in on how the transition to Full Producer Responsibility will be implemented by 2026.
The provincial change in the program is designed to pass the full cost onto industries.
The township is working Circular Materials on the blue box program, one of the three Producer Responsibility Organizations in Ontario.
While Whitelaw says most residents won't notice a difference to Blue Box pickup, commercial and industrial properties aren't eligible for the program.
He told council the town will have to decide next year whether to include them during the transition next year.
"Depending on the choice that the municipality makes, your community can opt in and have service provided to the non-eligible sources," he said. "Post (December 31, 2025) those non-eligible sources will have to be responsible for providing their own collection services, so they'll need to negotiate with a private hauler to provide processing and collection of their recyclable material... but as of January 2026, there is no option through Circular Materials."
Whitelaw said Circular Materials will only be running the Blue Box program, and the rest of waste disposal will still be the Township's responsibility.
"Municipalities are still responsible for the garbage and/or organics," he said. "If they don't already have a green bin program, they're going to want to set up one for organics."
North Huron's transition period will run from April 1, 2025 to Dec 31, 2025.
- Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that during the transition, non-eligible properties can opt in for pickup at a rate of around $200/tonne. That is only part of the rate calculation, which only applies if the municipality makes an arrangement with Circular Materials during the transition.
