Recycling in Canada

This article outlines the position and trends of recycling in Canada. Since the 1980s, most mid to large municipalities in most provinces have recycling programs.

The program's collection process various across Canada:

• Blue Box (container) - Ontario and British Columbia
• Green box - used in North York, Ontario
• Green bin - Toronto, Ontario, Markham, Ontario
• Grey box - paper and paperboard - North York, Ontario

Municipalities and/or provinces with recycling programs:

• County of Northumberland, Ontario
• Durham Region
• York Region
• Toronto, Ontario
• Ottawa, Ontario
• Ontario
• Quebec
• British Columbia
• Nova Scotia
• Saskatchewan
• Alberta

Material collected include:

• beer bottle deposit systems - Ontario, Quebec
• liqour bottle deposit systems - coming soon to Ontario
• pop can and bottle deposit systems - Quebec
• newspapers
• office paper and letter mail
• envelopes
• glass jars and bottles
• metal cans - beverage and soup cans
• books, magazines, telephone books
• plastics - Type 1 and 2 PETE
• compostable materials - food cuttings
• toys and clothing - for re-sale or re-use
• motor oil
• tires - some re-treaded, some mixed with ashpalt for road resurfacing; re-used in playrgrounds; pylons used for construction and road work crews