Stratford, Ontario residents will see big changes to their recycling pickup starting January 1, 2026, when responsibility for the residential blue box program shifts to the companies that make and import packaging and paper products. Traditional blue boxes will be retired and replaced by a cart-based, automated curbside collection system under Ontario’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework, which moves the financial and operational burden for residential recycling from municipalities to producers.
Starting this winter, each household will receive a standard 360‑litre blue wheeled recycling cart delivered to residents’ homes. A smaller 246‑litre cart is available on request through Circular Materials’ cart exchange form; the previously announced 120‑litre option is currently paused and is not guaranteed. The City has not published a December 15, 2025 deadline for requesting smaller carts. Emily Skelding, Supervisor of Waste Operations for the City of Stratford, reminds residents that the new carts should not be used or placed at the curb until January 1, 2026, even though deliveries began as early as November.
Recycling collection will be administered by Circular Materials, the provincial program administrator, with Emterra Environmental serving as the local curbside collection contractor. Homeowners should continue to set their carts out by 7 a.m. on their regular recycling day. To avoid missed service with the automated collection trucks, place carts with the wheels facing away from the curb and leave about three feet (roughly 0.9 m) of clearance around them from cars, poles or mailboxes. After January 1, 2026, residents should contact Emterra directly for missed collections and other collection issues rather than the City.
Recyclable items will follow the province’s single harmonized list, so residents can place items such as coffee cups, ice cream tubs and toothpaste tubes into their carts under the new system. A full list of acceptable materials and curbside guidance is available on the City of Stratford’s Recycling Collection page and via Circular Materials’ resources.
Local small businesses and other non‑eligible sources (such as places of worship, municipal buildings and other industrial, commercial and institutional stops) will continue to receive City-run service until October 31, 2026. The City has committed up to $250,000 to maintain that service temporarily; after October 31, 2026, those entities will need to arrange private recycling collection. Councillor Jo‑Dee Burbach has said homeowners may see minor changes to the collection program in 2026. City materials note that the provincial EPR shift is expected to save municipalities millions in operating costs and create a more consistent recycling system across Ontario.
