Recycling

Our blue box pick up and recycling services are provided by Bruce Area Solid Waste Recycling or BASWRA, a non-profit formed by Bruce County municipalities in 1990.

Collection for roadside blue box pick up is scheduled every two weeks, the date of pick up is dependent on where you live and can be found here:  2025 Blue Box/Recycling Schedule 

Blue Box recycling must be:

• At the curbside or roadside by 6:30am for collection
• Placed in a ‘lipped’ bin for sorting
• At least one blue box must be at roadside
  • If necessary, overflow may be placed in additional non blue box bins, provided they are ‘lipped’ however just placing non blue box bins increases the risk of being missed
  • Overflow may also be sorted and bagged in clear garbage bags. Unsorted bagged recycling will not be taken. Note the bags will not be taken.
• Items that are not accepted will be left in the blue box

Blue boxes can be purchased at the municipal office for a fee of $20.00 or at any hardware store.

Blue box materials can also be recycled at the landfill locations for free.

For a full list of accepted items, visit: Accepted Items and to sign up for email reminders for blue box day, visit: Email Reminders. Call the recycling hotline at 1-800-794-9770 if you have any additional questions or concerns. 

Your collection schedule and the materials you can recycle will remain unchanged until December 31, 2025. Starting January 1, 2026, Circular Materials may update the types of materials accepted in the new blue box program, though these changes are still to be confirmed. It is expected that the collection days will remain the same. 

For more information, visit Circular Materials’ webpage on advancing the circular economy.

No. Residents will not incur any additional charges when transitioning to the new blue box collection program commencing January 1, 2026. Residential curbside recycling will continue to be collected free of charge; however, recycling materials will no longer be accepted at the landfill. Any cardboard or other recyclables brought to the landfill will be subject to fees as outlined in the Fees and Charges Bylaw.  

The responsibility for Recycling Collection will transition from the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie to the Producer Responsibility System as of January 1, 2026. Although residents will see little changes, some administrative functions, such as complaints, will be handled differently. For more information, visit Circular Materials’ webpage on advancing the circular economy.

The Government of Ontario introduced legislation that transforms the management and collection of Blue Box materials in the province. The Blue Box Regulation, enacted under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, is a cornerstone of Ontario’s Strategy for a Waste Free Ontario: Building the Circular Economy.

This regulation shifts the current cost-sharing model, which divides expenses between municipal taxpayers and producers of Blue Box materials, to a new system where producers are fully responsible for funding, operating, and meeting performance targets for the recycling program. Producers will be accountable for collecting and recycling Blue Box materials, reporting to the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA), and achieving progressively higher recycling targets.

By placing the full financial, operational, and performance responsibility on producers, this new approach creates a direct incentive to minimize waste and enhance recycling efforts, leading to reduced natural resource extraction, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Producers are companies that supply materials for the blue box program, including packaging, paper products, and packaging-like items made from paper, glass, metal, or plastic. These companies, who design, manufacture, and market products and packaging, are responsible for managing and funding the entire lifecycle of their products and packaging.

For more details, visit Circular Materials’ webpage on promoting the circular economy. 

Yes. Industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) waste is regulated separately from residential waste in Ontario, and is not eligible for collection by Circular Materials as per the Province of Ontario’s Blue Box Regulation. 

According to the legislation, businesses, commercial farms, places of worship, non-profits, and other institutions are considered ineligible sources, and are not eligible for Ontario’s curbside Blue Box program, so curbside collection will end for these groups. Blue cardboard dumpsters (convenience depots) will also be removed as of January 1, 2026.

Because of these changes, ineligible properties will need to arrange their own contractor to collect recyclable items and cardboard from their premises. Contact details are provided for convenience, but you may choose your own contractor.

Many ineligible properties have residential units that remain eligible for curbside pickup. If your ineligible space houses a tenant, please inform them of this change

Until December 31, 2025, there are no expected changes to the accepted items list. After January 1, 2026, Circular Materials may update the types of materials accepted in the new blue box program, though these changes are still to be confirmed.

The current approved list for 2026 is: Accepted Items for 2026 (as of October 2025).

Until December 31, 2025, all recycling questions can be directed to the Municipality. 

After January 1, 2026, all recycling questions are to be directed to Circular Materials and the designated collection company.

To reach Circular Materials visit: circularmaterials.ca.