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. Check your eligibility, collection day and services. 

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

Still not sure if your property is eligible?  Please contact our Call Centre at 519-575-4400, available 24 hours a day, every day.

Approved collection containers

Collection crews pick up thousands of blue boxes each day. Using the right container keeps them safe and makes it easier for them to sort the items on the truck.

Items in wheeled carts, laundry hampers, storage totes, blue plastic "recycling" bags, large clear or opaque bags, and cardboard boxes will not be collected.

Are you a new homeowner in Waterloo Region? If you've moved into a house within the last six months and receive curbside collection, bring proof of your new/changed residency to the Region's Waste Management offices to pick up a blue box: 

• 201 Savage Drive, Cambridge (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
• 925 Erb Street West, Gate 1, Waterloo (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

Residents looking for replacement or additional blue boxes can purchase them from many local retailers across Waterloo Region.  

When purchasing your blue box, please look for these features:

1. Made from rigid plastic which does not bend or give when lifted full.
2. A rim around the top so the driver can lift it and hook it on the side of the truck for sorting.
3. Correct sizes:
   • "Containers only" blue boxes (for cans, cartons, bottles, and jars) no larger than 68 to 91 litres (18 to 24 gallons).
   • "Paper products and plastic bags" blue boxes (for paper, boxes, flyers, and plastic bags) no larger than 45 to 60 litres (12 to 16 gallons).

Collection schedule and rules

• 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.
• Prepare recyclables correctly. This includes,
• emptying and rinsing all cans, cartons, bottles and jars, and placing them in loose in your blue box
• 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.
• See details below. 
• Do the two-box sort. Sort cans, cartons, bottles and jars in one blue box, and paper products and plastic bags in another blue box.
• Do not overfill. Maximum weight for each blue box is 23 kilograms (50 pounds).
• 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.
• Keep your blue boxes visible and in reach for collection staff (not behind a snowbank or parked car).

Do you have collection concerns? Contact our Call Centre 519-575-4400, available 24 hours a day, every day.

What goes in?

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

"Containers" blue box:  Empty, rinse and put 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 (remove plastic lid and put both cup and lid loose in the blue box)
• Plastic containers:  Includes rigid plastic food, beverage, cleaning and pet care bottles, jars, jugs, and clamshell containers with plastic symbols one through seven: .

Note:  The plastic symbol tells us the type of plastic an item is made out of; not whether it is recyclable. Some plastic items (such as toys or storage bins) may have those numbers on them, but they can't be accepted in the blue box for recycling. 

"Paper products and plastic bags" blue box

• Paper, including newspaper, magazines, writing paper, envelopes, magazines, hard and soft covered books. 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 or 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 corrugated cardboard 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 recyclable symbols two and four; grocery, shopping, zippered bags (no stand-up pouches), dry cleaning, newspaper, bread bags, fresh and frozen fruit/vegetable bags, milk outer and rinsed and dry inner bags, salt bags (softener, road), garden soil and mulch 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! 

Wondering why sorting is so important? 

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, and/or
3. The item is banned from the landfill.

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

• Styrofoam
• coffee pods (even if labelled "recyclable", they are not accepted in our program)
• plastic toys
• other plastic household items (like hangers or laundry baskets)
• bagged containers (Do not put cans, cartons, bottles and jars in bags, not even blue plastic "recycling" bags. Keeping containers loose allows proper sorting at our Nyle Ludolph Materials Recycling Centre.)
• cans, cartons, bottles and jars that still contain food or beverages
• snack wrappers, chip bags
• furnace filters
• dishware and glassware
• household hazardous waste, including syringes
• light bulbs
• wooden orange crates

Wondering how to dispose of an item? Ask the Waste Whiz!

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.
• Make sure your blue boxes and bundles are within the weight limit. Maximum weight for each blue box and bundle is 23 kilograms (50 pounds).
• Download the My Waste app to set personalized waste collection reminders.
• Ask the Waste Whiz to see if an item is accepted in our Blue Box program, and how to best prepare it.
• Prevent litter by preparing recyclables correctly.
• Check out our brochures and other information on our Publications and Resources page.

Where does it go?

Recycling trucks drop off recyclables at our Nyle Ludolph Materials Recycling Centre (NLMRC) which as two sections, one to receive the Paper Products and Plastic Bags, and the other to receive all Containers.

Our NLMRC is not set up to sort paper or plastic film. These are loaded into large tractor trailers and shipped to Niagara Recycling, where they are further sorted and then sold to market.

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

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 materials).

The good news is that with the two-box sort, we can produce marketable materials. For our materials to meet the demanding requirements and maximize revenues (to help offset program costs), everyone is responsible to do their part in sorting recyclables!