Blue bin recycling will not be available at any schools within the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) or the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) when classes resume this September.
One contractor provided recycling service for plastics, glass and metal at all four local school boards, an OCSB spokesperson wrote to CBC in an email. That company did not renew its contract with the OCSB for this school year, and the board has not found a replacement.
“We remain hopeful that a recycling service for plastics, glass, and metal can be reinstated in the future,” the spokesperson wrote.
A spokesperson for the OCDSB told CBC that “as a result of the Province of Ontario’s implementation of the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, the local company that manages recyclable materials has discontinued plastics recycling services.”
Ontario amended the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act in 2022 and a transition period began in 2023 to a new framework where “Blue Box producers became fully accountable and financially responsible for collecting and recycling their Blue Box materials when consumers discard them.”
The transition is set to conclude by the end of 2025, according to Ontario’s Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority.Â
The OCDSB did not specify whether it’s looking for a new contractor, but wrote “we continue to strategize and innovate to improve our waste diversion results.”Â
Ottawa South MPP John Fraser reacted to the news on social media, saying that blue bins are a “symbol and a teaching tool for our kids.”
“There are too many holes in this story and parents deserve a better answer,” he wrote.
Both of Ottawa’s school boards said paper recycling will continue and asked that families pack litterless lunches or have their children bring glass, metal and plastic items home to be recycled.
Ottawa’s schools needed a contractor for their recycling because the city does not provide that service for school boards, according to a post on one OCDSB school’s website.
On Wednesday, city councillor Riley Brockington said in an online post that he has asked city staff to look into whether the municipality could help the school boards “in finding a solution to reinstate blue bin recycling service in classrooms and provide curbside collection.”
At today’s City Council meeting, I asked Solid Waste Services staff to inquire if the City can assist the four School Boards in finding a solution to reinstate blue bin recycling service in classrooms and provide curbside collection.
CBC reached out to local French school boards to confirm whether their recycling services have been affected too but did not receive a response by publication.Â