10/29/2026
On Friday, October 23rd, Environment Ontario announced proposed legislative and regulatory changes to the Ontario Blue Box program.
FBO has been highly active on the Ontario Blue Box program for nearly 6 years now, including written submissions, meetings, podcasts and stakeholder information sessions.
We were in close contact with the province leading up to the announcement and will be involved in the consultations on behalf of members.
The stated goals that were announced are 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆, 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀. The province is proposing the following:
1️⃣ Amendments to the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act to give the province authority to regulate contract terms between producer responsibility organizations (PROs) and producers, including fees. The stated aim is stable and predictable fees, consistent and fair contract terms, and clear insight into Blue Box operations and costs.
2️⃣ MECP will consult on regulatory changes: stronger PRO reporting on fees and system costs, service standards such as the allocation of carts and bins, and more efficient collection approaches, including for flexible plastics.
3️⃣ The province is exploring governance changes, such as replacing the current administrator with a new independent administrator.
The announcement does not include a deposit-return system for beverage containers.
We are reviewing the detailed amendments to better understand what is proposed and how it may affect costs and complexity for member companies.
We will be engaged through the legislative process as well as consultation on the regulations on behalf of our members.
