Recyclables are collected every other week on your scheduled collection day by Circular Materials (CM) and their contractor GFL as mandated by the Province of Ontario as of December 31, 2025. For questions and inquiries program, visit Circular Materials' webpage, email [email protected] or call 1-833-779-4351. View more details about this new recycling transition and or review the Frequently Asked Questions below.
To determine your collection day, please check our online Recycle Coach app or refer to the Waste and Recycling Calendar.
Remember to place the wheeled recycling carts at the curb no later than 7 a.m. on your scheduled collection day and no earlier than 5 p.m. the night before collection. Ensure that the recyclable material set out for collection is in accordance with the province's guidelines. Please remove emptied containers and any uncollected waste from the curb by 8 p.m. on collection day.
Blue Box Return Program
Residents are encouraged to reuse and repurpose their old blue boxes. For those who cannot find a personal need for their old blue boxes, the Town will be hosting a Blue Box Return Program from January 5 to 30, 2026. During this period, residents can drop off their unwanted blue boxes at the following locations for proper disposal and recycling. Each location will have a designated, signed outdoor drop-off area:
- Ray Twinney Recreation Complex (100 Eagle Street West) - front entrance near the textile recycling bins
- Newmarket Seniors’ Meeting Place (474 Davis Drive) - rear door, near the back of the building
- Magna Centre (800 Mulock Drive) - west entrance near the textile recycling bins
- Municipal Offices (395 Mulock Drive) - front entrance
- Newmarket Operations Centre (1275 Maple Hill Court) - front entrance
York Region Drop-off Location (January 5 to 30, 2026):
- Georgina Waste Transfer Station (23038 Warden Avenue, Keswick Ontario)
Accessibility and mobility needs?
If you have an accessibility or mobility need and require an alternative arrangement to drop-off your blue box, please check back on this website on January 5 for more information.
Blue Box Transition Program
As of December 31, 2025 municipalities across Ontario, including the Town of Newmarket will transition their Blue Box programs from a shared responsibility model of the current Blue Box program to a new, producer-led responsibility model, often referred to as 'full' or 'extended producer responsibility'. Under this new system, producers of Blue Box materials will be responsible for fully funding and operating the recycling program. This new blue box program will see additional enhancements, including a wider-range and standardized list of accepted items across the province.
Program transitions as of December 31, 2025 for Newmarket
On December 31, 2025, the Town of Newmarket is scheduled to transition to a new Blue Box collector that will be managed by Circular Materials' contractor GFL. Residents will be required to use a new recycling cart for the recycling needs.
New recycling carts are expected to be delivered to households starting in December. Please do not use the new carts until December 31, 2025.
Residents are encouraged to reuse and repurpose their old blue boxes. For those who cannot find a personal need for the old blue boxes, the Town of Nwmarket has a blue box return program.
For recycling-related questions or special accommodation requests regarding the new program, please contact Circular Materials' contractor GFL at 1-833-779-4351 or [email protected].
For more information on the new recycling program, please visit Circular Materials' website: circularmaterials.ca/newmarket
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the Blue Box program changing?
Since July 2023, the Blue Box program has been gradually transitioning from being operated by municipalities to being fully operated by producers (companies that produce Blue Box materials sold in Ontario). Under the new Blue Box regulation, producers are responsible for collecting and recycling Blue Box materials. Producers fulfill their regulatory obligations through Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs), which have established a single, province-wide common collection system administered by
Circular Materials (CM), a non-profit organization.
Under this new system, CM will oversee the collection of Blue Box materials from homes, residential buildings, and the residential portions of mixed commercial and residential properties across Ontario. By January 1, 2026, all municipalities in Ontario will have fully transitioned to this new producer responsibility collection system, marking a significant shift toward greater accountability and sustainability in waste management.
Starting December 31, 2025, the Blue Box program, including curbside collection, will be managed by CM and not by the Town of Newmarket.
Beginning January 1, 2026, CM can make changes to what materials are accepted and how they are collected under the new program. They will also be responsible for informing residents of any changes. In the Town of Newmarket, recycling will transition from the current Blue Box to large wheeled recycling carts, and collection frequency will change from weekly to every other week. The program will also shift from manual collection (where workers lift and empty containers) to automated collection using trucks equipped with mechanical arms.
Details on cart delivery timelines, the process for phasing out existing blue boxes, and other program changes will be shared as they become available.
The Town of Newmarket continues to maintain responsibility for the curbside collection of:
- Garbage and large/oversized household items (e.g. couches and mattresses)
- Green bin organics
- Leaf and yard waste
- Metal goods (e.g. BBQs and dishwashers)
Why are these changes happening?
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.
Who will be responsible for Blue Box collection?
Since July 2023, the Blue Box program has been gradually transitioning from being operated by municipalities to being fully operated by producers (companies that produce Blue Box materials sold in Ontario). To meet their regulatory obligations, producers are working collectively through Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs), who have established a unified, province-wide collection system.
Circular Materials (CM), a non-profit organization, has been designated as the administrator of this common collection system. CM and their contractor GFL will manage the collection of recycling materials from homes, residential buildings, and the residential sections of mixed-use properties across Ontario.
By January 1, 2026, all municipalities in Ontario will have transitioned to this new producer-led responsibility system, ensuring a standardized and sustainable approach to recycling across the province.
What does Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mean?
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach that makes producers (companies that supply packaging and paper products) responsible for managing these materials at the end of their life.
Under EPR, producers are required to fund and operate recycling programs instead of municipalities. The goal is to encourage innovation (e.g., by reducing the amount of packaging used, designing more recyclable packaging, and cutting down on packaging waste), create operational efficiencies through a more unified and consistent recycling system across the province, and improve recycling rates by setting consistent standards and expanding access to recycling services.
EPR has been established in other provinces, such as British Columbia, and is being adopted in others, including Alberta and Nova Scotia. Ontario's transition to EPR aligns with these broader national and international efforts to modernize and improve recycling systems.
Will the curbside program change for residential properties?
As of December 31, 2025, households can expect to see the following changes:
- Residents have been directed by Circular Materials and their contractor GFL to start using the new 360-litre recycling carts, which will be delivered in December, for use starting on
December 31, 2025. Please do not use the carts before December 31, 2025.
- Pick-up will be automated using trucks with mechanical arms.
- Recycling will switch to bi-weekly pick-up instead of weekly pick-up, but your waste collection day will remain the same. Recycling collection will occur on the opposite week from garbage collection.
Note: Organics collection will continue to be collected weekly (no change).
What about multi-residential properties?
Multi-residential properties are eligible for collection under the new producer responsibility system. These changes will impact existing customers, new developments, and properties currently using private Blue Box collection services in different ways.
Properties receiving municipal collection:
Effective December 31, 2025, multi-residential properties that currently receive Town-provided recycling collection will transition their Blue Box recycling collection to the new producer responsibility program.
New properties or properties that do not receive municipal collection:
A recent
amendment to the Province's Blue Box Regulation has deferred the expansion of recycling collection for multi-residential buildings that did not previously receive municipal Blue Box service until 2031.
What about Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) properties?
In Ontario, Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional (IC&I) waste is regulated separately from residential waste. Producers are not responsible for the collection or management of Blue Box material from the following 'non-eligible' sources:
- Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) properties
- Daycares
- Places of worship
- Businesses in BIAs
- Non-profit/charitable organizations and shelters
- Post-secondary institutions (public or private)
- Municipal facilities and community centres (e.g. libraries, arenas)
For properties that have both residential and commercial units, producers are only required to collect from those units that are defined as an eligible source.
Effective January 1, 2026, the Town's recycling collection program for IC&I locations will be discontinued, and these properties will need to make alternate arrangements as they will not be serviced by Circular Materials as per the Ontario Government's regulation. Garbage and organics collection will not be affected.
The Town is currently exploring a waste management strategy for the Downtown area which will include recycling diversion opportunities.
Why is the Town discontinuing recycling collection for IC&I locations?
As of January 1, 2026, all municipalities, including the Town of Newmarket, will no longer manage recycling services and are not obligated to do so under the new Blue Box regulation. The potential costs to the Town to continue to provide recycling collection services to IC&I properties (non-eligible sources) would be significantly higher than current rates, adding a significant cost to taxpayers. Non-eligible sources represent a small fraction (1%) of total properties that receive recycling collection provided by the Town.
Who do I contact if I have a Blue Box collection issue?
Starting December 31, 2025, the Town of Newmarket will no longer provide Blue Box-related services. From this date forward, recycling collection services will be provided by Green for Life (GFL), the contractor hired by Circular Materials (CM) to deliver residential recycling services in Newmarket.
For recycling-related questions, missed recycling collection, replacement carts, or special accomodation requests, contact GFL at
1-833-779-4351 or
[email protected].
For more information on the new recycling program, please visit Circular Materials' website:
https://www.circularmaterials.ca/resident-communities/newmarket/
You can continue to contact the Town about curbside waste collection for garbage, organics, yard waste, and any other non-recycling related questions.
