Blue Box

Who is eligible?

We collect blue box recycling from single-family homes, legal duplexes, eligible townhouse units, and small apartment buildings (6 units or less) every week. 

Apartment buildings of 7 units or more, and most townhouse/condominium complexes do not receive curbside collection from us.

Check your eligibility, collection day and services,

Ask the Waste Whiz!

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Approved collection containers

Due to COVID-19 measures, the offices are closed. Blue boxes are  available at our Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) depots in Cambridge and Waterloo.

• If you are a new homeowner/renter in Waterloo Region: If you have moved within the last six months and receive curbside collection, bring proof of your new/changed residency to the Region's Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) depots to pick up a blue box: 
  • 201 Savage Drive, Cambridge, HHW Depot, Monday to Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • 925 Erb Street West, Gate 2, HHW Depot, Monday to Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Broken blue box?  Bring your broken blue box to one of  the Household Hazardous Depot (HHW) depots noted above, and we will give you a replacement. 

While blue boxes may be available for purchase from online retailers, please note that the Region of Waterloo will only collect from approved-size blue boxes (see below for details) and does not reimburse for blue box purchases.

• Use only the right type of blue box container: 
  • A reusable, rectangular plastic box.
  • A rim around the top so the driver can lift it and hook it on the side of the truck for sorting.
  • Made from rigid plastic which does not bend or give when lifted full.
  • Correct sizes:
    • Blue boxes for Containers Only (for cans, cartons, bottles, and jars) no larger than 68 to 91 litres (18 to 24 gallons).
    • Blue boxes for Paper Products and Plastic Bags (for paper, boxes, flyers, and plastic bags) no larger than 45 to 60 litres (12 to 16 gallons).
• Containers that are not acceptable to use for blue box collection include wheeled carts, laundry hampers, storage totes, blue plastic "recycling" bags, blue plastic "recycling" cans, large clear or opaque bags, and cardboard boxes.
• Use these tips to fit more into your blue box.

Collection schedule and rules

• Set out your blue boxes by 7 a.m. every week on your collection day. Use our online address search to find your collection day. 
• There is no limit to the number of blue boxes you can set out each week.
• Do not put broken glass or other hazardous waste in your blue box. Blue boxes with broken glass or other hazardous waste will not be emptied.
• If someone in your household is sick, do not recycle items that might have touched their face, such as pop cans and juice cartons. Place these items in the garbage instead.
• Do not overfill. Maximum weight for each blue box is 23 kilograms (50 pounds).
• Keep your blue boxes visible and in reach for collection staff (not behind a snowbank or parked car).
• Prepare recyclables correctly. This includes,
• emptying and rinsing all cans, cartons, bottles and jars, and placing them in loose in your blue box (containers that are bagged will not be collected)
• flattening, sizing and bundling corrugated cardboard in the correct dimensions
• putting all acceptable bags in a grocery-sized plastic bag, and tying the handles of the outer bag closed
• sorting recyclables into two blue boxes (cans, cartons, bottles and jars in one blue box, and paper products and plastic bags in another blue box).
• If you have a collection concern, please use our online form.

What goes in?

We collect recyclables that are prepared and sorted using the two-box sorting system.

"Containers" blue box:  

COVID-19 update:  If you are sick, do not put in any items that touched your face, such as pop cans, and juice cartons.

Empty and rinse all containers.

Put them in loose - do not bag.

• Aluminum foil trays and wrap
• Cans:  Includes metal food and beverage cans, paint cans (dry paint cans only, remove lid), empty aerosol cans
• Cartons:  Includes drinking boxes, milk and juice cartons
• Glass bottles and jars (remove metal lids and put both pieces loose in blue box)
• Paper cups, such as take-out coffee cups (remove plastic lid and put both cup and lid loose in the blue box)
• Plastic containers:  Includes plastic bottles, jars and clamshell containers that contained food, a beverage, cleaning, personal or pet care product at the point of purchase, and clean flower pots/trays, and with plastic identification symbols one through seven: . 

Notes:  

• The plastic identification symbol tells us the type of plastic an item is made out of, not whether it is recyclable in our program. Some plastic items (such as toys or storage bins) may have those symbols on them, but they can't be accepted in our Blue Box program.  
• Number 6 is Polystyrene (Styrofoam). There are different types of Styrofoam, ranging from packing blocks and peanuts, to meat trays to cutlery. None of it is accepted in our Blue Box program.

"Paper products and plastic bags" blue box

• Paper, including newspaper, magazines, writing paper, envelopes, hard and soft covered books, and paper wrapping paper. Put inside a plastic bag and tie the handles of the bag to reduce litter.
• Boxboard, including cereal, cracker, and tissue boxes, paper take-out trays, egg cartons, paper towel and toilet paper tubes. Flatten. Stuff inside of an unflattened box, bundle no larger than 75 x 75 x 20 centimetres (30 x 30 x 8 inches), or put into a grocery bag.
• Corrugated cardboard: Flatten and size no larger than 75 x 75 x 20 centimetres (30 x 30 x 8 inches), tie together with twine and place beside your blue box.
• Plastic bags and outer wrap: All bags with plastic identification symbols two and four; grocery, shopping, zippered bags (no stand-up pouches), dry cleaning, newspaper, bread bags, milk outer and rinsed and dry inner bags. Plastic outer wrap such as from packages of paper towels, napkins, diapers, and cases of pop. Stuff inside one bag and tie the outer bag closed.

Wondering if an item is accepted in our Blue Box program? Ask the Waste Whiz!

What stays out?

Some items cannot go into the blue box because

1. We don't have a processor who can turn it into something else.
2. The item may cause health and safety concerns for collection staff. For instance, if you have COVID-19, do not put in any items that touched your face, such as pop cans and juice cartons, in the blue box. 
3. The item is banned from the landfill.

Items that are not accepted will be left behind by collection staff, and include:

• Gloves and face masks
• Wipes, including sanitizing wipes, baby wipes
• Appliances, electronics
• Bags that stand up (pouches), plastic mesh bags (such as for grapes), "crinkle" bags (that make a loud noise when you squish it - such as pasta, cereal and cracker bags), pet food bags, squeeze tubes 
• Bags that contained meat or cheese
• Bagged containers (keep cans, cartons, bottles and jars loose to allow proper sorting at our Nyle Ludolph Materials Recycling Centre)
• Broken glass (wrap in several layers of newspaper, or put in a cardboard box and tape the box shut, and then place in the garbage)
• Bubble wrap, cellophane wrap, plastic stretch wrap
• Candy wrappers, snack wrappers
• Cans, cartons, bottles and jars that still contain food or beverages
• Cardboard cans, such as frozen orange juice cans (If you take them apart, metal ends and plastic lids can be put in the Containers Only blue box, and paper middle can be recycled with boxboard.)  
• Chip bags
• Coffee pods (even if labelled "recyclable", they are not accepted in our program)
• Diapers
• Dishware, glassware, cookware, cutlery
• Foil wrapping paper, bows and ribbons 
• Furnace filters
• Household hazardous waste, including syringes
• Light bulbs
• Mirrors
• Toys
• Styrofoam, expanded polystyrene including peanuts, packing blocks, trays
• Windows
• Wooden orange crates
• Other plastic household items (like cutlery, hangers, laundry baskets)

Tips and FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

• Sort it right by using two blue boxes: one for cans, cartons, bottles and jars, and another one for paper products and plastic bags.
• Download our waste app to set personalized waste collection reminders.
• Prevent litter by preparing recyclables correctly and not overfilling your blue boxes.
• Check out our brochures and other information on our Publications and Resources page.
• Conserve water when rinsing containers. After washing dishes, use the dishwater to rinse out cans, cartons, bottles and jars.
• Using a permanent marker, write your address on each blue box.  

What is the two-box sorting system?

The two-box sorting system is when you sort your "containers" (cans, cartons, bottles and jars) into one blue box and your "paper products and paper bags" (newspaper, flattened and bundled boxes, and bagged bags) into another blue box. The advantages of this sorting system are: Convenience. Use a larger blue box for "containers only" which will help you store and set-out more recyclables without having to use so many smaller-sized blue boxes. Efficiency. Properly sorted blue boxes help collection staff sort into the two compartments of their trucks. Due to COVID-19 measures, our offices are closed to the public and stickers are not available for pick up at this time. Please email us your order or wait until our offices re-open. Thank you.

How should I prepare my recycling for windy or stormy days?

Don't set items to the curb the night before collection if a storm or high winds are expected. Place your items at the curb by 7 a.m. on the day of collection if the weather is better. Otherwise, consider waiting and setting recyclables out the following week.  Crush or flatten your containers. (Remember to keep your cans, cartons, bottles and jars loose in your Containers Only blue box. Do not bag.) Place your bagged paper in a blue box and place that box on top of your containers-filled blue box. Write your address on your blue boxes in permanent marker. This makes it easier for them to be returned. Thanks for using these tips to ensure the material you set out is collected, recycled, and prevents litter.

Where does it go?

Our collection contractors drop off recyclables at our Nyle Ludolph Materials Recycling Centre (NLMRC), located at 925 Erb Street West (Gate 1), Waterloo. The NLMRC has two sections, one to receive the Paper Products and Plastic Bags, and the other to receive all Containers.

Paper products and plastic bags are dropped off in the east side of the facility, and are loaded into large tractor trailers; we do not sort paper, and plastic bags. This material is shipped to Niagara Recycling, where it is further sorted and then sold to market.

The Containers are dropped off in the west side of the NLMRC, separated by material type, and shipped to different markets in southwestern Ontario, and northern and east south-central regions of the United States.

Ensuring recyclables are sorted properly is key to selling them to market. Early in 2018, China stopped receiving shipments of mixed recyclables. As a result, North American markets have been flooded with recyclables, tightening their requirements, and lowering their tolerance for contamination (unacceptable material).

The good news is that with the two-box sort, we can produce marketable materials! Everyone - residents, collection crews, and the NLMRC processor - are responsible to do their part to help meet the demanding requirements and maximize revenues (to help offset program costs).