No blue bins in Ottawa’s schools this fall, teachers/students asked to bring home recyclables

Ottawa’s elementary and secondary schools will not have blue bins for plastic, glass and metal recycling this fall. CTV’s Kimberley Johnson explains.

Ottawa’s two largest school boards will be asking students, teachers and staff to pack litterless lunches and bring home any plastic, glass or recyclables from school this fall, as blue bins are removed from all classrooms.

Both the Ottawa Catholic School Board and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) say the blue bin recycling bins for plastics, glass and metal will not be available in schools starting in September.

The Ottawa Catholic School Board told CTV News Ottawa the contractor that previously provided blue bin pickup for all four Ottawa school boards “decided not to renew the contract this summer,” adding, “no replacement service has been secured.”

In a memo to principals, obtained by CTV News Ottawa, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board said “effective immediately” all blue bin recycling bins need to be removed from classrooms for the start of the school year.

“As the City of Ottawa does not offer commercial services for blue bin recycling to school boards, the collection of blue bin recycling materials was contracted to a local vendor,” said the memo.

“Unfortunately, due to changing dynamics in the marketplace, the only vendor in Ottawa is no longer providing these services to school boards.”

The board says it is “exploring alternate arrangements” for blue bin pickup, but there are “no other collection/processing vendors in this area.”

“In the meantime, we encourage all staff to help reduce waste by taking any plastic, glass, or metal recyclables home and placing them in your household blue bins, where possible as residential recycling services to households is still available,” says the OCDSB memo.

“That’s not the role of the teacher,” said the union representing elementary school teachers.

Stephen Skoutajan is the president of the Ottawa-Carleton Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario. He says the concern for teachers is that proper recycling disposal for their students may become something they are in charge of.

“It’s sad because many students have learned to do it thanks to schools, thanks to teachers reminding them,” he explains.

“But not because teachers taking home their stuff to recycle in their own blue bins.”

The memo does not name the local vendor that collects blue bins from Ottawa’s school boards.

The Ontario government has introduced changes to recycling programs, making the producers of products and packaging responsible for the collection and recycling of materials they supply instead of municipalities. The transition of the blue box program across Ontario is scheduled to be completed by Dec. 31, 2025.

The City of Ottawa was one of the first municipalities to transition its residential blue bin recycling program to the “Individual Producer Responsibility” model, according to the city’s website. Circular Materials is responsible for collecting and processing the materials under the program.

The OCDSB memo also encourages staff to adopt “litterless lunch” practices as part of the efforts to reduce waste in classrooms. The board recommends using reusable containers instead of single-use plastic bags or wrap, bringing drinks in reusable bottles and packing utensils and napkins that “can be washed or reused.”

The Ottawa Catholic School Board says schools will encourage families to “help reduce waste” in schools this fall.

“By using reusable containers, packing litterless or ‘boomerang’ lunches, and having students bring recyclable items back home for proper disposal in their household blue bins,” the board said.

On Tuesday, parent Eileen O’Connor raised concerns about students affected by the move to CTV News Ottawa.

She has two children in Kindergarten and says waste is sent home as a rule. O’Connor is raising concerns for students in older grades who could lose out on lessons on proper recycling.

“Everything going into the big dumpsters means that everything goes into landfills,” she explains. “So, it doesn’t allow for recycling to actually take place.”

Dave Bloom has a 9-year-old son. He says schools have encouraged litterless lunches for years, so he is prepared with reusable containers.

“The past few years we’ve stocked up on the bento boxes and stuff,” Bloom explains. “So, everything just comes out of the package and into the box, into the lunch bag.”

Paper and mixed fibre recycling will continue as usual at the school boards.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Kimberley Johnson