Blue Bins

What does this mean for blue box collection?

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 stay the same.

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

Will this affect other curbside collections such as garbage, green bins and yard waste?

What will happen as of January 1, 2026?

The Town of Aurora will no longer collect blue box recycling as of January 1, 2026. For more information, visit Circular Materials’ webpage on advancing the circular economy.

Is there a charge to residents for this new blue box collection program?

No. There is no additional charge to residents to transition to the new blue box collection program on January 1, 2026.

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.

What are producers of recyclable materials?

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. 

The Town will no longer provide waste collection to IC&I properties and private collection must be arranged.

Blue boxes/Green Bins are replaced free of charge if broken. Please contact GFL at 1-866-421-5625 or wasteline@GFLenv.com. All replacement bins must be to the curb on the date of exchange agreed with our contractor GFL in order to receive a replacement.

All purchased bins will be delivered the following week from GFL.

New residents can request a new resident package in person at the Town Hall or by calling
905-727-1375. 

Please note: We do not have the blue or green boxes on-site. They will either be delivered curbside or you can pick them up after speak with a customer service representative at Aurora Town Hall.

Cornerstone to Recovery bins are available for the community to drop off their used and unwanted textiles.

Please do not leave items outside the bins. If the bin is full, please go to another location or hold onto the items until it has been services. The bins are serviced weekly until further notice.

Since June 2016 we have diverted 524,540 lbs. of material from our landfill sites.

We have partnered with Cornerstone to Recovery to provide a textile recycling program and bins are located around Town to donate clothing and textiles. Stained or torn textiles are also accepted, but must be dry and free of any medical or hazardous liquids such as grease/oil, blood and vomit.

The Town of Aurora has numerous textile bins throughout Aurora that are conveniently located at the following facilities:

• Stronach Aurora Community Centre - 1400 Wellington Street East (2 bins)

• Aurora Family Leisure Complex - 135 Industrial Parkway North (2 bins)

• Aurora Community Centre - 1 Community Centre Lane

• Aurora Public Library - CLOSED due to Construction – The bin has been relocated to the Stronach Complex

• Town Hall parking lot - 100 John West Way

• Aurora Go Station - 121 Wellington Street East, the southwest parking lot

If you have lots of textiles to donate, or if you simply can’t get over to the donation bins around Town, you can schedule a home pickup through Cornerstone to Recovery.

Schedule one now by emailing binservice@cornerstonetorecovery.com or call 1-866-927-3873.

On windy days, the lighter contents in blue boxes can often be found blowing out of bins resulting in litter on our streets and on our neighbour's properties. When debris and litter falls on a residential property it’s the responsibility of the homeowner to clean it up as per the Clean Communities By-law 6257-20. Please be considerate when packing your blue boxes and use the suggestions below to keep your blue box contents in their place.

• Place heavier items such as books and magazines on top of the lighter items. This should help prevent light blue box materials (such as paper) from blowing out of the bin and littering the streets.
• Bundle cardboard and newspapers separately. These bundles can act as a 'lid' for your blue box.
• On windy days, consider putting your recycling boxes out for collection in the morning, rather than the night before or skip that week's collection and place your recycling out for following week if your blue boxes aren't full.
• Please keep plastic bags/film plastic, styrofoam (including take out containers) and disposal coffee and soft drink cups out of the blue box. These items are not recyclable in our program and should be placed in the garbage.
• Don't overfill your blue box, keep material below the rim to prevent the wind from catching it and blowing it out of the bin.

There is no limit to the number of blue boxes residents can put out for weekly collection.