Continuous Improvement Fund and Datacall now terminated

In June 2025, RPRA formally wound up and terminated the Continuous Improvement Fund (CIF) and Datacall. These were two key milestones in the wind up of Ontario’s legacy Blue Box Program and transition to the province’s new producer-run system.

CIF was a partnership under the legacy Blue Box Program between the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the City of Toronto, Stewardship Ontario and RPRA to undertake research and develop programs to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of municipal Blue Box programs. The Datacall was administered by RPRA to determine the net cost of the legacy program and calculate the amount stewards were required to pay to municipalities for operating the program.

In 2019, the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks directed RPRA to wind up CIF as soon as practical prior to the wind up of the legacy Blue Box Program on December 31, 2025. In 2020, CIF and RPRA consulted stakeholders on a proposed CIF Wind Up Plan, which RPRA approved in December 2020.

RPRA continued to oversee CIF’s operations and the implementation of the approved plan throughout the wind up period, and on December 31, 2024, CIF ceased operations. On March 31, 2025, CIF submitted a Final Wind Up Report outlining the implementation of the plan. RPRA reviewed the report against the requirements of the approved wind up plan and the Minister’s direction and confirmed that the plan had been fully implemented. Visit our CIF page to learn more.

In the 2019 letter from the Minister, RPRA was also directed to continue administering the Datacall and allocate program funding through to the end of the transition of the legacy program. At the end of 2024, the final group of municipalities transitioning to the producer-run system in 2025 completed their Datacall reporting. Following that final Datacall reporting period, RPRA decommissioned the Datacall system. Visit our Datacall page to learn more and see historical data.

On June 11, 2025, RPRA communicated to the Minister that CIF had been wound up and the Datacall had been terminated, confirming the completion of two requirements of the direction letter to wind up the legacy program.

RPRA will continue to oversee the remaining steps in the wind up of Ontario’s legacy Blue Box Program.