General News

Changes in province-led recycling go into effect Jan. 1

January 3, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

Residents and businesses in Simcoe County are being reminded of upcoming changes to recycling services beginning Jan. 1, 2026.

This will be part of a province-wide transition to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

These changes are being implemented under a provincial mandate requiring municipalities to adjust their programs.

As directed by the Province, this includes changes to curbside collection for businesses and institutions.

Additionally, a new disposal fee system for recycling dropped off at County waste facilities will be implemented.

Effective Jan. 1, 2026, recycling drop-off at County transfer stations will include a disposal fee. This change is necessary because the County will no longer receive provincial funding to offset recycling costs. As a result, the County must now cover the costs of hauling and processing these materials to maintain service.

The minimum charge will be $10. The rate per ton is $200.

The fee applies to all residents who currently receive curbside recycling collection services and all industrial, commercial, and institutional properties.

Starting Jan. 1, 2026, businesses and institutions will no longer receive curbside recycling collection as mandated by the Province under the transition to EPR.

Businesses wishing to remove their carts can contact the County directly.

While garbage and organics collection provided by the County will continue as usual for this sector, recycling must still be separated from garbage and disposed of properly.

Simcoe County, along with many other municipalities, strongly advocated for the continued curbside recycling collection of small industrial, commercial, and institutional properties.

Despite this advocacy, the Province confirmed, through a formal notification from the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks in October 2025, that Circular Materials would not be able to accommodate this direction.

Residential recycling collection will continue on your regular collection day using your existing recycling carts.

However, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, recycling will be collected by Emterra trucks on behalf of Circular Materials.

Garbage and organics will continue to be collected by Miller Waste.

Pickup times will most likely differ due to differing collection routes.

Be patient if your recycling is collected at a different time than garbage and organics. 

Readers Comments (0)