More items can be recycled through Ontario’s Blue Box program

Empty toothpaste tubes, deodorant sticks and other household items can now be put out for recycling in your blue box.

Circular Materials, which oversees the program, said they wanted a create a standardized list across Ontario.

“No matter where you are in the province – at home, on vacation, or just passing through – you can recycle the same materials,” they wrote on their website. “No more having to determine what goes where in each community.”

It also means even more items can go into your blue box. Here’s what can be recycled:

• Cardboard: Pizza boxes, direct mailboxes, moving boxes and shoe boxes.
• Boxboard: Cereal boxes, tissue boxes, egg cartons, rolls from toilet paper and paper towel.
• Paper laminate packaging: Pet food bags, food service paper bags, and plates.
• Paper laminate containers: Spiral cans, cookie dough package and ice cream containers, as well as hot and cold beverage cups.
• Cartons: Beverage cartons, juice and milk cartons, coffee creamers, and sugar cartons, soup and sauce cartons.
• Paper: Any colour, including flour bags, prescription bags, paper produce bags. Notepads, white or coloured loose paper, file folders, other printed materials. Community newspapers, flyers, brochures and magazines. Greeting cards and envelopes, gift boxes.
• Hard plastic containers: Laundry detergent and household cleaner jugs, shampoo, body wash, salad dressing, condiment, dish soap, mouth wash bottles and plastic beverage bottles.
• Plastic packaging and containers: Food trays, salad, yogurt, peanut butter, bakery and egg containers, plastic cups, plastic tubs and lids, black plastic containers.
• Tubes: Toothpaste tubes, deodorant, hand cream tubes.
• Small item plastic packaging: Hand sanitizer bottles, medication bottles, blister packs, plant pots.
• Flexible plastic packaging: Bags used for dry cleaning, bread, newspapers and flyers. Overwrap (paper towel & toilet paper, beverage containers). Coffee bags or deli pouches, chip bags, bubble wrap, snack wrappers, cereal liner bags, plastic gift bags.
• Foam packaging: Meat trays, takeout containers, cups, plates, bowls, foam packaging for products.
• Metal containers: Food cans, metal lids, cookie, coffee and tea tins, beverage cans.
• Aluminum (foils and trays): Aluminum foil, pie plates, frozen food trays.
• Aerosol containers: Food spray, hairspray, air fresheners, shaving cream, deodorant. (Aerosols with toxic, corrosive or flammable symbol are not accepted with the exception of: Cooking oil sprays and products designed for food, as well as Hairsprays, cosmetics and products designed to be used on hair/skin.)
• Glass containers: Clear and coloured glass. Food containers, jars and bottles, cosmetic containers, spice bottles, oil and vinegar bottles, non-alcoholic glass beverage containers.

Property owners are reminded to give items a quick rinse and bundle cardboard boxes before putting them into the blue box. Hazardous materials, like batteries, should stay out.

The changes went into effect Jan. 1.

More information can be found on Circular Materials’ website.