Under Ontario’s circular economy laws, businesses that produce or supply batteries, electronics, household hazardous waste, lighting, and tires are required to provide recycling locations and report them to RPRA. Only locations reported to RPRA appear on the map.
Recycling locations you’re already aware of that don’t appear on the map most likely collect materials not listed above or are operated by a municipality who aren’t required to report recycling locations to RPRA.
Under the WDTA Blue Box program, municipalities could choose to accept these materials in their programs. This choice varied between municipalities.
Under the producer-run Blue Box program, none of these materials are considered obligated Blue Box materials. The Blue Box Regulation specifically states that hard or soft cover books or products made from flexible plastic that is ordinarily used for the containment, protection and or handling of food, such as cling wrap, sandwich bags or freezer bags are not Blue Box materials. Pots and pans do not meet the definition of Blue Box material under the Regulation.
Producers are not obligated to collect or manage the recovery of these materials.
Under the WDTA Blue Box program, some municipalities may have chosen to provide Blue Box collection to facilities that were not residences, such as commercial properties, municipally owned and operated buildings or other institutions.
Under the Blue Box Regulation, only certain types of facilities can receive collection under the producer-run Blue Box program. These facilities are:
Blue Box materials (i.e., products and packaging made of metal, glass, paper, flexible plastic, rigid plastic, and beverage containers) are typically collected directly from residences through the provincial Blue Box Program. RPRA’s Where to Recycle map displays public locations for recycling materials that don’t belong in your Blue Box (e.g., batteries, electronics, household hazardous waste, lighting and tires).
For more information on recycling Blue Box materials, visit Circular Materials’ website. Circular Materials is the administrator of Ontario’s Blue Box collection system.
No. Recycling drop-off locations displayed on the map cannot:
If you are charged a fee or refused drop off, you can report an issue about that specific location to RPRA (see our other FAQ for further instructions).
RPRA’s Where to Recycle map displays locations across Ontario where the public can drop off used materials to be recycled, such as batteries, electronics, household hazardous waste (e.g., paint, antifreeze, pesticides), lighting and tires, for free. Materials collected at these locations are reused, refurbished, recycled, or properly disposed of to help keep them out of landfill, recover valuable resources and protect our environment. Learn more here.
If you experience an issue when dropping off your recyclables at a location displayed on the map, click the ‘Report an Issue’ link on that specific location. This link will open a form for you to fill out about the issue. RPRA’s Compliance Team will review the issue reported and take action, as necessary.
You may report an issue to RPRA because the recycling location:
The Where to Recycle map displays locations that the public can drop off used materials to be recycled, such as batteries, electronics, household hazardous waste (e.g., paint, antifreeze, pesticides), lighting and tires, for free. For specific examples of materials accepted and important information to know before dropping off materials, visit the Where to Recycle map.
Typically, only municipal depots may require valid IDs when dropping off materials to recycle to confirm you live in that municipality. It is recommended to bring your ID with you to any location, just in case.
If the map is not showing any recycling locations near you, you can:
The recycling locations that appear on the map are reported to RPRA by businesses that run the recycling systems in Ontario.
The recycling locations that appear on the map are reported to RPRA by PROs (or producers managing their own collection networks) as the administrators of the collection systems. The public collection activities that PROs report in their registry account are uploaded to the map in near real-time.
This map provides locations for most materials captured under Ontario’s recycling programs, which are overseen by RPRA: batteries, electronics, household hazardous waste, lighting and tires. See below for more information on what to do with materials that aren’t displayed on the map.
Household hazardous waste
Drop-off locations for some household hazardous waste, such as refillable propane containers, refillable pressurized containers, fertilizers and mercury-containing thermostats, thermometers and barometers, aren’t displayed on the map because they aren’t required (under the recycling program) to be reported to RPRA.
However, there may be locations that accept these materials for recycling that aren’t listed on RPRA’s Where to Recycle map. To find a location to dispose of refillable propane containers, refillable pressurized containers, fertilizers or mercury-containing thermostats, thermometers and barometers, contact one of the businesses below or visit their website:
Other materials (e.g., organics, mattresses, textiles, etc.)
If you need to recycle materials outside of the programs that RPRA oversees (e.g., organics, mattresses, textiles, etc.), please contact the waste management department at your municipality for proper disposal instructions.
