Morris residents can now toss paper coffee cups and fountain drink cups into their blue recycling bins, after an announcement from the Town of Morris and Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba on July 15, 2026. The change is effective immediately across the province, but residents must remove lids and straws and make sure cups are empty first.
Paper cups have been a common item that Manitobans could not recycle for years because of the liquid-resistant coating and dyes that made them hard to process. Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba (MMSM), the industry-funded group that covers up to 80 percent of local recycling costs, said this move has been discussed for about 20 years.
“It’s a big change, something folks who’ve been working in this industry have probably talked about up to about 20 years, in terms of a challenge,” said MMSM Executive Director Christa Rust. Now, paper cups can be sorted with mixed paper and turned into new products like tissue paper and paper bags.
Manitoba joins British Columbia and Ontario in allowing paper cups in blue bins. The province’s recycling programs recovered nearly 75 million kilograms of packaging and printed paper in 2023, according to SimplyRecycle.ca. Lids, straws, and compostable cups are still not accepted.
The Town of Morris shared the update as part of MMSM’s community announcements, meaning all local households can now include items like disposable coffee cups and fountain drink cups in their curbside collection. For more details, residents can check the town’s website.
