Council Summary September 29, 2025

** The council summary below provides a snapshot of the major items presented at Monday’s council meeting. The council meeting webcast is available on the City of Waterloo YouTube page. Please refer to the minutes for an official record of the meeting.

Waterloo requests blue box producers be responsible for recyclables from an expanded list of sources

Mayor McCabe brought forward a motion requesting that the province amend Blue Box regulations, so that the producers of products and packaging, now responsible for the end-of-life management of recycling products, are required to manage recycling from an expanded number of sources. Under Ontario Regulation 391/2, Blue Box producers are fully accountable and financially responsible for collecting and processing their products and packaging once they are disposed, but only for those materials collected from ‘eligible’ sources.

Council resolved unanimously to ask the province to expand the list of eligible sources to include recycling from business improvement areas, places of worship, daycares, campgrounds, public facing and internal areas of municipal-owned buildings, and not-for-profit organizations, such as shelters and food banks. Many of these sources have historically been part of municipal blue box collection programs, supporting the diversion of recyclable materials from landfill.

Without an amendment to the regulation, if a municipality chooses to support diversion by continuing to provide blue box services to the ‘ineligible’ sources, the municipality will be required to assume 100% of the costs to collect, transport and process the recycling.

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Media contact:

Cari Van Niekerk

Director, Corporate Communications

cari.vanniekerk@waterloo.ca