More into the Blue Box

The Region of Peel is accepting additional plastic packaging items in the Blue Box Program. Residents in the Cities of Brampton and Mississauga and the Town of Caledon may now put the following clean and empty plastic packaging items in the blue box for collection:

• clamshell packaging used for fruits, vegetables and bakery products

• large clear plastic tubs, lids and trays used for salads, cakes, delicatessen and cooked chicken

• clear plastic egg cartons

• take-out containers and microwavable trays

• garden nursery pots, cells, trays and flats

• plastic vitamin and prescription bottles

“The addition of these plastic packaging items in the Blue Box Program will help to keep items out of landfill and improve the Region’s waste diversion rate,” remarks Ben Shepherd, Manager Waste Collections and Processing. “Since the start of the single-stream Blue Box Program in 2006, the Region of Peel has diverted more than 654,000 tonnes of material from landfill, and the addition of these plastic packaging will increase our diversion efforts.”

Region of Peel staff worked with the City of Toronto, the Regions of Durham, Halton, Niagara, York and the City of Hamilton to collaborate on a coordinated education campaign funded by Stewardship Ontario and Waste Diversion Ontario Continuous Improvement Fund to notify residents that more plastic packaging is acceptable in the Blue Box Program.

“Stewardship Ontario is excited to work closely with Peel Region and the municipalities in the Golden Horseshoe on the recent “Recycle More” education campaign which promotes the recycling of additional plastic packaging items in the residential Blue Box stream,” says Sherry Arcaro, Director of Field Services at Stewardship Ontario. “Working collaboratively with seven municipalities and the Continuous Improvement Fund to create an education campaign that will reach nearly 7 million residents is a first in Ontario and another benchmark for the successful Blue Box Program.”

If Peel Region residents have questions about how to appropriately dispose of materials, they are encouraged to visit wheredoesitgo.ca, a searchable database – created by the Region of Peel – which provides proper disposal information for more than 600 items.