Durham Region Waives Recycling Drop-off Fees for Durham Businesses that previously received municipal Blue Box collection services

Durham Region has waived fees for dropping off Blue Box materials at Regional Waste Management Facilities. The fee waiver was approved as part of the 2026 budget and is now in effect. This change helps support businesses during Ontario’s transition to a producer-run Blue Box system.

Durham businesses previously receiving municipal Blue Box collection services can now bring their Blue Box recyclables to any Regional Waste Management Facility (WMF) at no cost. This applies to dedicated loads of recyclable materials only, not mixed loads also containing chargeable materials. A list of facility locations is available at durham.ca/WMF.

Ontario’s Blue Box Regulation 391/21 makes producers, companies that manufacture or import packaging, responsible for managing the Blue Box program. Due to these provincial rules, businesses are no longer eligible for curbside Blue Box collection services. The Region does not handle curbside recycling collection; instead, Circular Materials (the organization selected by producers) oversees residential Blue Box collection. Because of these updates, municipal curbside Blue Box collection for businesses officially ended on December 31, 2025. 

While this is a provincial decision, the Region continues to advocate for small businesses to be included in future provincial updates to the program.