![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761193695_502_default.jpg\")
Starting next January, all recyclables have to be put out in these bins. Circular Materials says each household will receive one. (Jacob Barker\/CBC)<\/p>\nWe\u2019ve all heard about the three Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle.<\/p>\n
How about a fourth?<\/p>\n
Similar to “reuse,” the province\u2019s new recycling system operator suggests Ontarians “repurpose.”<\/p>\n
It’s referring to your existing red and blue bins, which have been used for recycling for years.<\/p>\n
Come next January, they won\u2019t be accepted at the curb.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are encouraging residents to repurpose any of their old or existing bins,\u201d says Jennifer Kerr, spokesperson for Circular Materials \u2014 a Toronto-based non-profit company in charge of recycling packaging and paper products.<\/p>\n
Despite being similar in appearance, Windsor-made Herby Curby bins on wheels will also not be tipped into trucks in 2026.<\/p>\n
It comes down to compatibility, according to Circular Materials.<\/p>\n
The new blue bins being are equipped with tracking devices for inventory purposes \u2014 with the ability to monitor when carts are being tipped at the curb and collected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey would have a bar code and the truck can go ahead and read the bar code \u2026 [and] tell you if [the] recycling has been picked up,\u201d said Kerr.<\/p>\n
Starting next January, all recyclables have to be put out in these bins. Circular Materials says each household will receive one. (Jacob Barker\/CBC)<\/p>\n
GFL Environmental will serve as the local service provider in Windsor-Essex, performing the actual recycling pickups.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have connected with GFL \u2026 and they have confirmed that only the bins that have been given to residents free of charge are compatible with the automated card system. So anything that a resident had purchased or had from before, from previous program, is no longer compatible as of January 1,” she added.<\/p>\n
The new system is being touted for its single stream \u2014 meaning you can mix paper and plastics, throwing it all in the same big cart.<\/p>\n
What’s collected goes to sorting stations, then further processed within the recycling supply chain for use in new products and packaging.<\/p>\n
![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761193697_482_default.jpg\")
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens has expressed concerns around the communication behind the region’s upcoming recycling changes. (Dalson Chen\/CBC)<\/p>\n
Windsor\u2019s mayor recently spoke out, asking for more answers from Circular Materials \u2014 including what people should be doing with their existing bins.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem that we’re having and what every councillor has identified is that Circular Materials has been largely absent from responding to the concerns and the questions that residents have, which are really common sense questions,\u201d Drew Dilkens told reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Circular Materials said multi-residential buildings will eventually be included in the new single-stream program, but not until 2031.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019ve all heard about the three Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle. How about a fourth? Similar to “reuse,”…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-233526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}