A few municipalities in the area are advocating for exemptions to the new provincial producer responsibility recycling program that deems non-profits as ineligible for curbside pickup.
The changes to the system go into effect province-wide on January 1, but one municipality has already offered an extension to the industrial, commercial and institutional sector. Council for the City of Owen Sound approved a three-month extension to continue collecting non-eligible sources until March 31, 2026.
Council also directed staff to send a letter urging the Ontario government to reinstate curbside blue box collection eligibility for charitable organizations.
Francesca Dobbyn, Executive Director United Way Bruce Grey (UWBG), says without a change, it's just another cost the province is forcing non-profits to absorb.
"With our backpack program and our homelessness outreach program, we have a lot of items we bring in," said Dobbyn. "Two-and-a-half to three thousand backpacks a year: that's a lot of cardboard. To absorb that cost into those programs is just going to mean less funds to help people in the community, because now we have to pay for the recycling."
Earlier this month, South Bruce Peninsula Council also voted in favour of urging the province to reinstate the eligibility for non-profit organizations to receive curbside collection.
Moving forward, SBP approved a free recycling depot that non-profits within the municipality will have access to at the local landfill. It's a move other communities have adopted, including Saugeen Shores, where UWBG also has a staff location. However, Dobbyn says even a free drop-off comes with a cost.
"The challenge with doing your own recycling is now we're asking staff to use private vehicles to take it out, it's not like we have a truck. It's staff time, it's mileage, so it's still a logistical nightmare," she said. "It's just one more download to the charitable sector when we are trying to keep people fed and clothed and housed during these really difficult economic challenges."
Hanover was set to end is curbside collection for non-eligible sources in October of this year, but ultimately extended the deadline to the end of 2025. The Town says it "will continue to advocate for expansion of the program and share concerns expressed to Council and staff to Circular Materials Ontario and the Province of Ontario," but as of January 1, 2026, the cost of recycling will fall on these ineligible sources.
Finally, the Municipality of Kincardine says it has not done anything different to support not-for-profit groups, and they will need to arrange to transport their materials to the Waste Management Centre and would be charged the same as other groups.
Dobbyn says it's a pity that non-profits will need to jump through these extra financial hurdles. She said she ultimately thinks the Ontario government needs to reverse course on its decision.
"The solution is for the province to turn around and put businesses back into the recycling program. When you think about it downtown, there's businesses on the main street and there's apartments above. Those apartments still will have curbside recycling. The truck is going to drive past these businesses. It seems ridiculous that they can pickup one recycling bin that relates to the apartment but not one that relates to the business," said Dobbyn.
Unfortunately for groups looking for change in this new rollout, the Legislature has gone on break until March 23, 2026.
Other municipalities contacted for this story that did not respond in time for publication include: Brockton, North Huron and Goderich.
