Blue Box Archives - The Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC)

Beyond the Headlines: Context on Ontario’s Proposed Blue Box Changes

Leave a Comment / Blue Box, Extended Producer Responsibility, Ontario Government / By Rachel Kagan

The Ontario government recently proposed amendments to the province’s Blue Box Regulation, triggering swift reactions from stakeholders. As the environmental voice of Canada’s paper packaging industry, the Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) believes it’s important to move beyond reactionary narratives and look at the facts. Instead of pointing fingers or pitting stakeholders against […]

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Navigating Ontario’s Blue Box Transition and the Importance of the Entire Recycling Value Chain

Blue Box, Extended Producer Responsibility, Recycling / By Rachel Kagan

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) – a policy approach which makes producers financially and physically responsible for managing the recycling of their packaging – is at a pivotal moment in Canada. By the end of this year, most provinces will have adopted full producer responsibility models for residential packaging recycling programs, which represents a major shift in how

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The Recyclability of Paper Bags Should Not Be Controversial

Blue Box, Paper Bags, Paper Recycling, Recycled Content / By Rachel Kagan

Paper bags have been back in the news recently due to a decision by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) on their new bag supplier. In April 2023, the LCBO announced they would ban paper bags from their stores for environmental reasons, which PPEC and others challenged. A year later, the Premier directed Ontario’s

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Paper-based Packaging Leads the Way for Ontario’s Household Blue Box Program

Blue Box, Circular Economy, Paper and Plastics Packaging, Paper Recycling, Recycling / By Rachel Kagan

Paper-based packaging continues to be a success story in Ontario\’s household Blue Box program, as measured by marketed tonnage, based on new data released by the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA), the regulator mandated by the Government of Ontario to enforce the province’s circular economy laws. RPRA’s new Datacall Report summarizes information generated by the 246 programs participating

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Government Amends Ontario Blue Box Regulation

Blue Box, Ontario Government, Paper Packaging, Paper Recycling / By Rachel Kagan

The Government of Ontario made amendments to the Blue Box Regulation, which came into effect on April 14, 2022. The amendments do not change the original intention of the regulation – to transition the existing Ontario Blue Box model from a shared funding model to a full producer responsibility model – and do not impact

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Discussing the Toronto Star’s Ontario Blue Box Article

Blue Box, Paper Recycling, Recycling, Targets / By Rachel Kagan

On March 19, the Toronto Star published The Ford government is overhauling Ontario’s blue box recycling program — and critics say it will be a disaster, by Business Feature Writer Richard Warnica. The Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) was interviewed for the article on February 4, but our comments about paper-based packaging in

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The Latest Ontario Blue Box Recycling Data for Paper-based Packaging

Blue Box, Circular Economy, Corrugated Boxes, Paper Packaging, Paper Recycling, Recycling, Waste Diversion / By Rachel Kagan

Paper-based packaging continues to be the largest captured material in Ontario\’s household Blue Box program, based on new data released by the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA). Each year, municipalities, recycling associations, and First Nation communities in Ontario report on their residential waste diversion programs to RPRA, through the annual Datacall. The most recent

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This National Pizza Day Don’t Forget that Pizza Boxes are Recyclable in Canada

Blue Box, Circular Economy, Compostable, Corrugated Boxes, Household Waste Generation / By Rachel Kagan

It is National Pizza Day on February 9, 2022, and the Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) wants to celebrate by reminding you that pizza boxes are recyclable in Canada! You thought we were going to say eat pizza, right? You can do that, too, but don’t forget to recycle that box once you’re

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What PPEC will be Watching in 2022

Blue Box, Canada's Forests, Recycling / By Rachel Kagan

As the Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) continues to work on achieving its mission to promote the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of the Canadian paper packaging industry, we will also be closely monitoring the following key issues in 2022. Extended Producer Responsibility and Recycling Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach

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Ontario Blue Box program falls below 60% recycling target

Blue Box, Targets, Waste Diversion, Waste Strategy / By John Mullinder

Stewardship Ontario’s new 2020 Annual Report provides the most recent data on the performance of the Ontario Blue Box program. Over 729,000 tonnes of packaging and printed paper were recycled in 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, resulting in a 57.3% recycling rate, down from 60.2% in 2018. The Ontario government’s

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