The Municipality of Mississippi Mills says an “enhanced recycling system” will start on January 1, 2026, and residents will be able to recycle more kinds of packaging and paper than before. The municipality’s garbage and recycling page notes the change and names Miller Waste as the new local contractor, while Circular Materials — the producer responsibility organization administering Ontario’s common collection system — published a province‑wide unified materials list on September 23, 2025 that is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2026. This matters because it may change what goes in curbside bins, how collections are handled, and who to call about missed pickups or bin replacement.
The municipal notice lists examples of new accepted items that residents can expect to put in their blue boxes — black plastic containers, hot and cold beverage cups, deodorant containers, toothpaste tubes, frozen juice containers and ice cream tubs — and repeats standard prep tips: rinse containers, keep items clean and dry, flatten and bundle cardboard, and have recycling curbside by 7 a.m. The municipality’s December 8, 2025 news post names Miller Waste as the contractor starting January 1, 2026 and notes that Miller Waste’s contact information will be posted soon. Circular Materials’ community page for Mississippi Mills, however, still shows Emterra as the contact for replacement containers and missed collections, so residents may see both names involved in local service during the transition. The public pages do not specify, as of the cited notices, which company will handle specific functions (curbside collection versus container replacement versus processing), so residents and interested parties should confirm those roles with Mississippi Mills, Circular Materials, Miller Waste and Emterra.
The change is part of Ontario’s Blue Box transition that moved responsibility for recycling from municipalities to producers of packaging and paper products under rules filed in June 2021 (Blue Box Regulation O. Reg. 391/21). Circular Materials put out a unified materials list on September 23, 2025 so people across the province recycle the same items starting January 1, 2026. The goal of the shift is to standardize rules, boost recycling rates and make producers pay for collection and processing, though governments and industry have debated costs and details as the January 1, 2026 deadline approached.
Residents who have questions about collection days, what exactly can be recycled in their neighbourhood, or which company to contact can check the municipality’s garbage and recycling page and the Circular Materials resident page for Mississippi Mills for the latest guidance. The municipal site lists general contacts (Town@mississippimills.ca, 613‑256‑2064) and Circular Materials provides program information and contacts online; Miller Waste and Emterra are named on local pages as companies involved in service, but the municipal post indicates Miller Waste’s contact details had not yet been posted as of December 8, 2025.
