Learn about recycling in Ontario

Batteries power many of our modern conveniences like clocks and remotes. But when used batteries are not recycled properly, they end up in our landfills where they represent a loss of valuable resources, and they can harm the environment and human health.

Consumers can recycle their batteries at a range of businesses and locations across the province. Use our Where to Recycle map to find a location to drop off used batteries. Find a recycling location near you.

Examples of batteries can be recycled

Single-use and rechargeable batteries weighing 5 kg or less each are accepted for recycling. Examples include:  

• Button cells 
• AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, 
• Lantern batteries 
• Sealed lead acid batteries 
• Replacement batteries for products (e.g., drill, cell phone, laptop)

Note: Batteries must be separated from the product before dropping it off.

Ontario’s Blue Box Program is changing. Starting January 1, 2026, it will be operated and fully paid for by the businesses that make or sell Blue Box materials. Municipalities will cease to operate and pay half of the cost of the program. This change makes the producers of Blue Box materials responsible and accountable for collecting, managing and repurposing their products and packaging after consumers have finished using them.

The new Blue Box Program will accept more materials; include condos and rental buildings, as well as schools and retirement homes; and harmonize the program across the province. This means that consumers can recycle the same materials in their hometown as when visiting family and friends’ homes in other towns in Ontario.

Examples of Blue Box materials that can be recycled in the new Blue Box Program

There are three types of Blue Box materials: product packaging, paper products or packaging-like products. See below for examples.

• Product packaging
  • Primary packaging like film and cardboard used to package a case of water bottles.
  • Transportation packaging like cardboard boxes and plastic bags used by delivery couriers.
  • Convenience packaging like bags and boxes used at check out at the grocery store, whether or not you’re charged for them.
  • Service accessories like single-use straws, cutlery or plates.
  • Ancillary elements that are integrated into packaging and intended to be consumed or disposed of with the primary packaging like a toy on the top of candy, a detergent container cap used for measuring, or the pouring spout on a juice or milk carton.
• Paper products
  • Paper products include printed and unprinted paper, such as a newspaper, magazine, greeting cards, calendars (promotional or purchased), notebooks and daily planners, promotional material, directory, catalogue or paper used for copying, writing or any other general use.
  • Hard or soft cover books and hardcover periodicals are not included.
• Packaging-like products
  • Packaging-like products include aluminium foil, a metal tray, plastic film, plastic wrap, wrapping paper, a paper bag, beverage cup, plastic bag, cardboard box or envelope.
  • A product made from flexible plastic that is ordinarily used for the containment, protection, or handling of food, such as cling wrap, sandwich bags, or freezer bags are not included.

Common electronics like computers, cell phones, headphones, printers and cameras are replaced every day by Ontarians. These items are recyclable, with collection sites across the province that will ensure these products, and their components stay out of landfills. Find a recycling location near you. 

Examples of electronics that can be recycled

• Computers
• Printers and printer cartridges
• Video gaming devices
• Telephones, including cell phones
• Display devices and monitors
• Radios and stereos, including after-market vehicle stereos
• Headphones
• Speakers
• Cameras, including security cameras, and video recorders
• Drones with audio or visual recording equipment
• Peripherals and cables used to support the function of electronic equipment, including charging equipment
• Parts of electronic equipment sold separately, such as hard drives
• Electrical musical instruments
• Audio recording equipment

Many consumers are unsure what do with common household items like antifreeze, oil filters, paint, pesticides, and non-refillable pressurized containers. Throwing the contents in the garbage or down the drain can be hazardous to our health and the environment. These materials can be safely managed so they can be reused, recycled or properly disposed of. Find a recycling location near you.

Examples of household hazardous waste accepted for recycling or to be safely disposed of

• Antifreeze
• Oil containers 
• Oil filters 
• Fertilizers
• Mercury-containing devices
  • Barometers
  • Thermometers
  • Thermostats
• Non-refillable pressurized containers
  • E.g. Helium, nitrogen or propane cylinders

• Paints and coatings 
  • E.g. Aerosol paint, primers, sealers

• Pesticides 
  • E.g. Fungicides, herbicides, insecticides
• Solvents 
  • E.g. Acetone, paint strippers, 3-in-1 multipurpose oil
• Refillable pressurized containers
• Refillable propane containers

Note: Household hazardous waste includes the packaging that the product came in. For example, if you fully finish a container of antifreeze, fertilizer or paint, the empty container should be recycled as household hazardous waste.

With so many different light bulbs and other lighting components, like LEDs, it is important to know how and where consumers can take lighting equipment to have it properly and safely disposed of when finished with it.  Find a recycling location near you.

Examples of lighting that can be recycled

• Light bulbs, tubes, and lamps, including: 
  • incandescent 
  • fluorescent 
  • halogen 
  • light emitting diode (LED) 
  • high-intensity discharge (HID) 
  • ultraviolet 

Note: Lighting fixtures are not accepted for recycling.

Tires are all around us. They drive our economy and they get us to where we are going. But if they are illegally dumped, stockpiled or sent to landfill, they pose a serious risk to the environment and public safety. These materials can be dropped off to be recycled into new products. Find a recycling location near you.

Examples of tires accepted at retail stores and events

Tires that weigh one kilogram or more are accepted for recycling. Examples include: 

• Car, truck, motorcycle, ATV, and trailer tires 
• Tires on industrial and agricultural vehicles and equipment 
• Snowblower, wheelbarrow, dolly and lawn mower tires 

Tires accepted at municipal depots

• Standard passenger vehicles and light truck tires, including those with rims 

Blue Box materials

Materials are picked up by a collection truck and dropped off at a facility to be properly sorted.

During the sorting process, only materials that are contaiminated (i.e do not belong in the Blue Box) are discarded and then sent to landfill.

All other materials that are collected through the Blue Box Program continue to go through the recycling process and are eventually sorted and processed for use in new products.

Other recyclables

Materials that are dropped off at recycling locations (i.e. recycling event, municipal depot, retail store, etc.) are either sorted at that location or sent to a facility to be sorted and are eventually turned into new products.

Only materials that were dropped off and cannot be recycled will be sent to landfill.

Consumers can do their part to make sure their recycling opportunities are maximized by:

• Using their buying power to purchase products with more sustainable packaging.
• Followinginstructions provided by their municipality on how to properly clean and sort materials (i.e., sort materials if there are Blue Box’s for each type of material like paper and plastic).
• Make sure items that are recyclable but cannot go in the Blue Box (i.e. batteries, lightbulbs, tires, paint, etc.) are dropped off at recycling locations. Find a recycling location near you.

Some materials are not only harmful to the environment if they are incorrectly sent to landfill but they are harmful to humans. For example, batteries require special handling because they can leak and hurt someone or they can cause a fire.

There are several steps you can take to determine how to recycle something, such as:

• Reviewing the What Can Be Recycled section on this page.
• Find a recycling location near you for items that do not belong in the Blue Box.

The presence of a recycling symbol (known as a mobius loop) on a product does not guarantee that it can be recycled in Ontario.

Refer to the What Can Be Recycled section of this page to understand what items can be recycled in Ontario.

In Ontario, if you purchase batteries, electronics, household hazardous and special products, lighting, tires, or materials that end up in your Blue Box, you may see an extra charge added to your receipt called an environmental fee, resource recovery fee, environmental handling fee, tire handling fee, eco-fee, recycling fee or something similar.

Businesses have the choice to recover the cost of recycling their products by incorporating those costs into the overall cost of their product (as they do with other costs, such as materials, labour, other regulatory compliance costs, etc.) or by charging it as a separate fee to consumers, which are sometimes known as an environmental fee.

Environmental fees are not mandatory and are applied at the discretion of the business charging them, including the amount of the fee.

No. An environmental fee is not a government tax and cannot be represented as mandatory, a regulatory charge, or an RPRA fee. It is a fee charged at the discretion of a business to recover their costs related to recycling the product.

If you are a consumer and believe that the purpose of a fee is being misrepresented, contact the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery directly at 1-800-889-9768.

Consumer protection laws in Ontario prohibits the misrepresentation of charges, which means that producers or retailers cannot misrepresent any visible fees as a regulatory charge, tax, RPRA fee or something similar. Consumers who have questions or concerns about a specific transaction or want to report a misrepresentation can contact the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery at 1-800-889-9768.

Ontario’s recycling regulations do not set an environmental fee for any product, the amount of the fee charged is decided by the business.

If you are concerned about the fee you were charged, you should contact the business that charged you the fee to request a more detailed explanation of how the fee was determined.

No. Public recycling locations (that are displayed on the map) cannot charge the public a fee or refuse the drop-off of materials that the location accepts.

The Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority, also known as RPRA, is the regulator mandated by the Government of Ontario to enforce the province’s recycling laws.

RPRA currently oversees six recycling programs in Ontario. Under these programs, the businesses that produce the materials are legally required to collect and recycle those materials after consumers have finished using them. RPRA is responsible for ensuring those businesses are properly collecting and recycling their materials across the province.