Homeowners urged to repurpose Herby Curby bins once new recycling program begins

The company that will take over recycling in the region is asking residents to repurpose their current bins.

The company responsible for recycling in Windsor-Essex is encouraging everyone to repurpose their existing recycling bins.

Effective Jan. 1, 2026, Circular Materials, a national not-for-profit organization, will be fully responsible for operating Ontario’s recycling program in a new single-stream recycling collection system that will allow all recyclables to be put into one bin.

Homes across Windsor-Essex have already started to receive a new 95-gallon automated cart, but old bins, including Herby Curby bins, will no longer be collected once the new system starts.

Circular Materials Director of Community and Media Relations Jennifer Kerr said residents can use the old bins until the end of this year.

“We’re asking people to repurpose them. Reuse them, the first R in reuse, recycle, repeat; we’re asking people to find other useful ways to use those carts,” she said.

Kerr said they have spoken with the local recycling collection contractor, GFL Environmental, who confirmed the bins purchased under the previous program are not compatible with the new cart collection system.

“The trucks are automated, and you have very specific bins that are compatible with these trucks, and those are the bins that we are dropping off to residents for free,” she said.

Kerr said the carts that were purchased under the old blue box system are not eligible for reimbursement. Herby Curby has been making waste bins for the region for 40 years.

The company is calling for its bins to be included in the blue bin program from Circular Materials.

The company said its hydraulic-lift bins work just like the new ones, and by accepting them into the program, it would support local jobs and offer more flexibility for residents.

A Change.org petition to allow Herby Curby bins to still be used for recycling has over 1,600 signatures since being launched a week ago.