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Published Dec 29, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
Starting January 1, 2026, new material will be accepted in recycling collection in Pembroke, Petawawa, and LV under the new province-wide common collection system. The Waste-Free Ontario Act requires producers of recyclable containers to foot the bill, not municipalities. Photo by Derek Baldwin /The Belleville Intelligencer / Postmedia NetworkArticle content
As the calendar rolls over from 2025 to 2026 changes are coming to recycling collection in Pembroke, Petawawa, and Laurentian Valley and clear across Ontario for that matter. Starting Jan. 1, 2026, the responsibility for blue box and yellow can recycling isn’t just a municipal matter anymore and new material will be accepted in recycling collection under the new province-wide common collection system. Ontario is officially handing the keys, and the bill, to the companies that create the plastic and packaging in the first place.
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The producer pays
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Under the new “Extended Producer Responsibility” model in Ontario, the financial and operational burden now rests squarely on the shoulders of the industry.
Circular Materials, a non-profit producer responsibility organization, has been tapped to manage this new provincial landscape. The goal is simple: if a company produces the packaging, they are now responsible for ensuring it doesn’t end up in a landfill.
The seeds for this transition were sown back in August 2019 when the Government of Ontario announced plans to transition responsibility for the provincial recycling system from municipalities to producers. The idea was to create a “circular economy”, a system where materials are continuously looped back into production rather than discarded.
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The province provided a multi-year transition period beginning in 2023 to allow municipalities to phase into the new plan. Producers had to become fully responsible for providing recycling services province wide by the end of 2025.
The Ottawa Valley Waste Recovery Centre’s (OVWRC) partner municipalities, namely the Town of Petawawa, City of Pembroke, Township of Laurentian Valley and Township of North Algona Wilberforce, transitioned March 28, 2025.
According to the OVWRC, in alignment with the new regulations, the Centre’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF) was leased to Emterra Environmental who has operated it since Dec. 1, 2024. The centre said this was done through a competitive bid process undertaken by Circular Materials.
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Sorting of recycling no longer takes place at the OVWRC; material received is shipped to a larger, centralized MRF with more sorting technology. According to the Centre’s website, this did mean job losses in the recycling facility at the OVWRC but it didn’t state how many positions were lost.
OVWRC customers dropping off recycling will continue to enter through gate 1.
All residential recycling will be sent to the public drop-off bins adjacent to the scale house. There is no charge for residential recycling.
What it means for you
The day-to-day routine for residents remains largely the same. However, there are a few advantages.
Firstly, one of the biggest headaches for Ontarians has been the “recycling lottery” meaning what was accepted in Pembroke and at the OVWRC might be trash in Ottawa. This new system promises a standardized list of materials across the entire province.
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Residents can expect to recycle a wider variety of materials in their bins as the system scales up.
By shifting costs to the producers, the move is intended to take the pressure off municipal budgets. Some regulators, industry groups, and journalists have expressed concern that shifting the financial burden of recycling packaging back to the producer will cause producers to compensate by raising the price of their products. Others argue this possible effect could be mitigated thanks to competition from other producers. Time will tell.
For more information
To view or download a digital list of all accepted recyclable material, please visit the Ottawa Valley Waste Recovery Centre’s website at:
https://ovwrc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Recycling-Sorting-Guide-CORRECTED.pdf
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For questions related to missed recycling collection or replacement recycling bins, please call Miller Waste at 1-855-752-3257 or area3@millerwaste.ca.
For all other recycling related questions or concerns, please contact Circular Materials: customerservice@circularmaterials.ca or 1-877-667-2626.
For all other collection inquiries, purchase/replacement green carts and nets (to help reduce windblown litter) please contact:
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