New Residential Recycling Cart Program
By John Swartz
Starting on July 2, Orillia residents will see enhancements to their residential recycling program to a single recycling cart for all materials. Recycling collection will take place every other week. This widely used, automated recycling cart program is an easy and safe solution to managing household recycling. New carts will be delivered to homes starting in June, and residents can begin using them on July 2.
Program Roll Out
- New recycling carts will be delivered to homes starting in June 2026. Deliveries will continue throughout the month of June.
- Single-stream recycling, where all recycling materials go in one cart, will change from weekly to every other week. There will be no change to the day of the week your recycling is collected.
- The updated, bi-weekly collection schedule will be available online ahead of the new program start.
- Collection begins on July 2 after Canada Day.
- Until the cart program begins in July, residents should continue to use their current recycling containers or bags.
- Residents can see the full list of materials accepted for recycling online. Circular Materials introduced a unified and expanded material list for the province of Ontario effective January 1, 2026, which means Ontarians can now recycle more materials, more easily.
Cart Size And Automated Collection
The new recycling carts have a capacity of 360-litres, the average volume of recycling generated by households in Ontario. Emterra Environmental, the service provider responsible for recycling collection in Orillia, will use automated collection trucks to safely service the carts, eliminating the need for drivers to exit their vehicles to manually empty them.
If the larger 360-litre cart does not meet a household’s recycling needs, residents may order a smaller, 240-litre cart to be delivered instead of the 360-litre cart. Residents can order smaller carts from Circular Materials by May 1, 2026.
Each delivered cart will include information on how to properly set it out for collection.
Information for residents
Residents can expect an informational postcard in the mail around mid-April. The postcard will outline cart delivery time frames, program start date, details on how to order a smaller cart if desired, and general recycling tips.
Circular Materials and the City will support residents through the program roll out online. Additional outreach will include advertising on social media, radio and local newspapers to ensure residents are well informed.
For questions about recycling, residents can email the local recycling collection service provider, Emterra Environmental, at customercareont@emterra.ca or call 1-888-597-1541.
(Images Supplied)
