Frequently Asked Questions

Producers are now required to service eligible facilities that were not serviced by the legacy Blue Box program beginning in 2031.

The registration portal is closed until RPRA receives direction from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks on the transitioning of these facilities.

In the interim, facilities that want to receive Blue Box collection must continue with private collection (or initiate collection with a private service provider, if they have not been serviced before).

If you have further questions, please contact the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

The requirement for Blue Box producers to provide collection service to eligible facilities – multi-residential buildings, schools, and specified long-term care homes and retirement homes – in eligible communities that did not receive service under the legacy Blue Box program has been delayed to 2031.

Facilities in communities that did not receive Blue Box collection under the legacy program that want to receive collection between 2026 and 2030 must continue with private collection, or initiate collection with a private service provider if they have not been serviced before.

RPRA will open its facilities registry well in advance of the 2031 start date to allow eligible facility owners and operators to register. Stakeholders can subscribe to RPRA’s mailing list to receive updates.

Blue Box materials supplied to the IC&I sector are not obligated, therefore, deductions are available for materials supplied to a consumer in an IC&I setting.

Blue Box producers may deduct materials that are collected from a business or institution where producers are not required to provide Blue Box collection services. Examples include:

• Offices
• Stores and shopping malls
• Restaurants
• Hotels
• Hospitals
• Community centres
• Places of worship
• Recreation facilities
• Sports and entertainment venues
• Universities and colleges
• Manufacturing facilities
• Golf courses
• Cemeteries
• Amusement parks

Producers are responsible for material collected from eligible sources in the producer run Common Collection System, Alternative or Supplemental Collections Systems. Material from these categories is not allowed to be deducted:

• Material that is collected from a residence through a curbside or depot collection service.
• Material that is generated at a facility (including multi-residential buildings, retirement homes, long-term care homes and schools).
• Material that is collected from a public space (including an outdoor area in a park, playground or sidewalk, or a public transit station).
• Material collected under an alternative or supplemental collection system.

Please see the Reporting Guidance Ineligible Source Deductions for the 2026 Blue Box Supply Report for more information on how to determine and use these deductions.

Also see our FAQs: ‘What deductions are available to producers under the Blue Box Regulation?’, ‘Who is a consumer under the Blue Box Regulation’

There are two allowable deductions for Blue Box materials:

The “installation deduction” for materials collected from an eligible source at the time a related product was installed or delivered (e.g., packaging that is removed from the house by a technician installing a new appliance).

The “ineligible source deduction” for materials deposited into a receptacle at a location that is collected from a business or institution where Blue Box collection services are not provided under the regulation. This was expanded by the regulatory amendment in July 2023.

Blue Box producers may deduct materials that are collected from a business or institution where producers are not required to provide Blue Box collection services. Examples include offices, stores and shopping malls, restaurants, community centres, recreation facilities, sports and entertainment venues, universities and colleges, and manufacturing facilities.

Producers cannot deduct the following materials collected through the collection systems established under the Blue Box Regulation:

• Material that is collected from a residence through a curbside or depot collection service.
• Material that is collected from a public space (including an outdoor area in a park, playground or sidewalk, or a public transit station).
• Material collected under an alternative or supplemental collection system.

Materials that are deducted cannot count toward a producer’s management requirement.

Please see the Reporting Guidance Ineligible Source Deductions for the 2026 Blue Box Supply Report for more information on how to determine and use these deductions.

In the Blue Box Regulation, certified compostable products and packaging is defined as material that:

• is only capable of being processed by composting, anaerobic digestion or other processes that result in decomposition by bacteria or other living organisms, and
• is certified compostable by an international, national, or industry standard that is listed in this procedure.

All certified compostable products and packaging reported by producers must be certified under one of the following standards:

• CAN/BNQ 0017-088: Specifications for Compostable Plastics
• ISO 17088: Specifications for compostable plastics
• ASTM D6400: Standard Specification for Labeling of Plastics Designed to be Aerobically Composted in Municipal or Industrial Facilities
• ASTM D6868: Standard Specification for Labeling of End Items that Incorporate Plastics and Polymers as Coatings or Additives with Paper and Other Substrates Designed to be Aerobically Composted in Municipal or Industrial Facilities
• EN 13432: Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation – Test scheme and evaluation criteria for the final acceptance of packaging

 

Public sector institutions must report all branded and unbranded Blue Box packaging supplied or sold with food served in their owned and operated on-site facilities. These facilities include but are not limited to cafeterias, pubs, cafes, and in the case of a college or university, faculty offices.

It is important to consider other situations where food service Blue Box packaging is supplied to consumers. For example, a college must report the packaging used in their Culinary and Hospitality programs that allow students to take home food prepared in class.

Under the Blue Box Regulation which came into effect on July 1, 2023, eligible locations for collection in a First Nation community include:

• Private residences
• Public and private schools
• Elders’ lodges (or retirement homes)
• Not-for-profit long-term care facilities

Locations that are not eligible for Blue Box collection or funding under this program include:

• Commercial properties
• Band owned and operated facilities such as daycares or community, wellness, cultural and language centres.
  • Note: Although costs of collection from these properties are not covered under the Blue Box system, First Nations can apply for Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) funding to support these costs. Please speak to your region’s ISC officer for more information on how to apply.

Under the Blue Box Regulation, a building is a “facility” if it is one of the following:

• A multi-residential building with six (6) or more dwelling units
• A public or private school
• An Elders’ lodge
• A not-for-profit retirement home
• A not-for-profit long-term home

To be considered an “eligible facility” – a facility that is eligible to receive Blue Box collection services under the Blue Box Regulation – one of the following must apply:

a) The facility is located within a community* that has or will join the common collection system and was previously serviced under the legacy Blue Box program (e.g., received depot or curbside collection from the municipality, local service board or First Nation before it joined the common collection system). This facility is eligible to receive collection service on its host community’s transition date.

or

b) The facility was not previously serviced under the legacy Blue Box program but is planning to register for collection under the new Blue Box system. Facilities in this category will be eligible to receive Blue Box collection services under the producer run program starting January 1, 2031.

*A “community” refers to a municipality, local service board or First Nation

To better understand when your eligible facility is eligible for Blue Box collection, see the chart below:

If you have questions, please contact the Compliance and Registry Team at [email protected] or 1-833-600-0530 (toll-free).

Not-for profit long-term care homes, not-for-profit retirement homes and Elders’ lodges may be eligible to receive Blue Box collection service under the producer-run recycling system.

If these facilities previously received service from their host community under the legacy Blue Box program, they will be automatically included in Blue Box collection from their host community and do not need to take any additional action.

A not-for profit long-term care home, not-for-profit retirement home or Elders’ lodge that was not previously serviced under the legacy Blue Box program may receive collection service beginning in 2031. These facilities will have to register with RPRA. More information will be shared closer to this date.

Also see our FAQ: Is my facility eligible to receive Blue Box collection services?

Under the Blue Box Regulation which came into effect on July 1, 2023, eligible locations for collection within the producer-run program include:

• Private residences
• Public and private schools
• Elders’ lodges
• Not-for-profit retirement homes
• Not-for-profit long-term care facilities

Note: Commercial properties are not eligible for collection under the producer-run Blue Box program.

Producers are legally required to offer collection services to eligible facilities starting in 2031. A facility that did not receive Blue Box collection services under the legacy program but would like to receive Blue Box collection services from 2026 to 2030 must contract directly with a private service provider for private collection.

Under the producer-run system, residences are eligible for Blue Box collection. Residences are buildings with five or less residential units. Building developments with five or less units are considered residences and will also receive service from the producer-run system.

Townhouses, stacked townhouses or row houses with six or more units may also be considered residences if one of the following applies:

• each unit receives curbside garbage collection, or
• the building uses a common collection point where residents drop off their waste and from which the local government collects garbage.

Townhouses, stacked townhouses or row houses with six or more units that do not meet the criteria above are not eligible to receive Blue Box collection from the producer-run program until 2031, as these types of buildings are considered facilities. To learn more see our FAQ: “Is my facility eligible to receive Blue Box collection services?”

Eligible facilities that were not serviced under the legacy Blue Box program can begin receiving Blue Box collection services through the producer-run program on the later of the following dates:

• January 1, 2031
• The date the facility officially registers under section 63 of the Blue Box Regulation

For details on specific types of locations, see our FAQ: “What is an eligible facility under the Blue Box Regulation?”