Ontario EPR Recycling & Mattress Disposal 2026

10 min read

If you have noticed new stickers on your Blue Bin, different trucks on your street, or confusing notices from your municipality about recycling changes, you are not imagining things. Ontario's recycling system went through its biggest overhaul in decades, and as of January 1, 2026, the transition is complete.

But here is what most people do not realise: these changes affect more than just what goes in your Blue Bin. They affect businesses, producers who sell packaged goods, and yes, the practical experience of buying a new mattress and getting rid of your old one. The packaging on that mattress-in-a-box? A producer is now paying for its recycling. The old mattress you need hauled away? That is a completely different story, and one that Ontario still has not figured out.

We are going to walk through the whole picture, from the regulatory side to the "I just want to know how to get rid of my old queen mattress" side. Because at Mattress Miracle, we deal with both every single day.

What Changed on January 1, 2026

Ontario spent three years transitioning its Blue Box recycling program from a municipal-run, taxpayer-funded system to a producer-funded model called Extended Producer Responsibility, or EPR. The legal framework is Ontario Regulation 391/21, made under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016. The transition happened in phases starting in 2023, with different municipalities switching over at different times.

On January 1, 2026, the final wave completed. All 383 Ontario communities and 12 First Nations are now under the new system. The companies that manufacture, import, or sell packaging and paper products in Ontario are now financially responsible for collecting and recycling those materials. Municipalities no longer pay for it. Taxpayers no longer fund it through property taxes.

The Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA) oversees the whole thing. RPRA is the regulator. They register producers, track compliance, set program fees, and issue penalties when companies fail to meet their obligations.

Circular Materials and the Unified Province-Wide List

Circular Materials is the main Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) operating in Ontario. They are the ones who actually run the collection and recycling infrastructure on behalf of the producers who pay into the system.

One of the biggest practical changes for residents is the unified province-wide materials list that took effect January 1, 2026. Before this, every municipality had its own accepted materials list. What you could recycle in Ottawa might not be accepted in Brantford, and what Brantford took might be rejected in Sudbury. It was a mess.

Now, for the first time, the same list applies everywhere in the province. If it is on the list, it goes in the Blue Bin regardless of where you live. The 2026 list added several items that were previously only accepted in some communities:

• Paper-based and plastic-lined hot and cold beverage cups (including coffee cups)
• Black plastic containers
• Frozen juice containers
• Ice cream tubs
• Toothpaste tubes
• Deodorant containers

That coffee cup you have been guiltily throwing in the garbage? It goes in the Blue Bin now, province-wide. No more second-guessing based on which municipality you happen to be standing in.

RPRA Reporting Deadlines for Ontario Producers

If you are a producer, meaning you supply packaging or paper products to Ontario consumers, there are hard deadlines you need to know about.

The big one: May 31, 2026 is the deadline to submit your 2025 Blue Box material supply data to RPRA. This is the annual reporting requirement under O. Reg. 391/21. You report how much obligated material you supplied into the Ontario market the previous year, and your PRO fees are calculated based on those numbers.

New producers must register with RPRA within 30 days of first supplying obligated materials in Ontario. This applies to any company, regardless of size, that puts packaging or paper products into the Ontario consumer market.

For mattress retailers specifically, the packaging question is straightforward. If you sell mattresses that come in boxes, bags, or plastic wrap, you are likely an obligated producer for that packaging. The mattress itself is not covered. But the polyethylene bag it arrives in, the cardboard box for bed-in-a-box models, the foam corner protectors, all of that counts as obligated material. At Mattress Miracle, our suppliers handle their own producer obligations for the packaging they use, so customers do not see a direct EPR fee at the register. But the cost is built into the system somewhere.

Why IC&I Properties Lost Curbside Recycling in January 2026

This is the change that caught a lot of small business owners off guard. Under the new EPR system, producers are only required to collect materials from "eligible sources." And that definition does not include most commercial, industrial, or institutional properties.

As of January 1, 2026, the following property types no longer receive curbside Blue Box collection:

• Private sector businesses and retail establishments
• Places of worship (without attached residential units)
• Daycares not attached to a residence
• Campgrounds and trailer parks
• Municipal and government buildings (libraries, arenas, offices)
• Not-for-profit organisations and shelters
• Post-secondary institutions
• Commercial farms without a residential home

These properties must now arrange their own private recycling contracts or self-haul materials to municipal facilities. In some areas, like St. Thomas, businesses can drop off recyclables at the Community Recycling Centre free of charge. In others, tipping fees apply. It varies by municipality, which makes it confusing for businesses that operate across multiple locations.

Eligible vs. Non-Eligible Recycling Sources

The regulation makes a clear distinction between eligible and non-eligible sources, and understanding this distinction matters if you own property that straddles the line.

Eligible sources that continue to receive producer-funded curbside collection include:

• Single-family homes
• Multi-unit residential buildings that previously received curbside service
• K-12 schools (public, separate, and private)
• Non-profit long-term care homes and retirement homes
• The residential portion of mixed-use properties

Non-eligible sources include all of the IC&I (Industrial, Commercial, Institutional) properties listed above.

The tricky part is mixed-use properties. If you live above a store on Colborne Street, your residential unit still qualifies for curbside recycling. The commercial unit below does not. In practice, this means shared bins in mixed-use buildings need to be sorted out between the residential and commercial tenants, which is exactly as complicated as it sounds.

For our detailed breakdown of IC&I recycling changes, we covered the practical implications for Brantford-area businesses and property managers.

Administrative Penalties Under O. Reg. 391/21

The enforcement side of EPR has teeth. RPRA can issue administrative penalties of up to $1,000,000 per violation under O. Reg. 558/22 (the Administrative Penalties regulation) and Section 89 of the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act.

This is not theoretical. On June 28, 2024, RPRA issued its first administrative penalty under the Blue Box regulation to Casper Sleep Inc., the bed-in-a-box company. Casper was fined $340,457.04 for two violations: failing to establish and operate a collection system ($263,446.41, including $63,446.41 in recovered economic benefit) and failing to implement a promotion and education programme ($77,010.63, including $2,010.63 in recovered economic benefit).

The penalty structure includes a base fine plus clawback of any financial advantage the company gained by not complying. So if you saved money by ignoring your obligations, RPRA takes that savings back on top of the penalty itself.

PROs: Circular Materials vs. Landbell Canada for Small Producers

Producers in Ontario are required to work with a registered Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) to meet their Blue Box obligations. You have options. The two main PROs operating in Ontario are Circular Materials and Landbell Canada.

Circular Materials is the largest PRO in Ontario. They operate the actual collection infrastructure in most communities, manage the contracts with haulers and processors, and run the public-facing side of the program (the app, the website, customer service for missed pickups). If your recycling bin gets stickered, it is getting a Circular Materials sticker. They are essentially the successor to the old Stewardship Ontario model, built to handle the province's entire residential recycling operation.

Landbell Canada is backed by the Landbell Group, a global environmental compliance company with operations across Europe. They entered the Canadian market as a PRO option for producers who want an alternative to Circular Materials. Landbell handles registration, reporting, and compliance management on behalf of producers. They position themselves as particularly useful for companies that also have EPR obligations in other Canadian provinces or internationally, since they can manage multi-jurisdiction compliance through one relationship.

For small producers, especially small Ontario-based manufacturers or retailers who package their own products, the choice often comes down to service level and cost. Both PROs charge material management fees based on the type and volume of packaging you supply. Producers are free to split their obligations across multiple PROs if they choose, though most small producers stick with one for simplicity.

Cart Stickering and Local Collection Changes

You may have noticed (or been confused by) new stickers appearing on your Blue Bin. This is the physical side of the transition. Across Ontario, recycling bins at residential properties have been stickered with Circular Materials branding and contact information.

In Toronto, the stickering process rolled out neighbourhood by neighbourhood starting in May 2025. Residents were asked to leave their Blue Bin at the curb until 7 p.m. on collection day to allow crews to apply the stickers. The sticker includes the Circular Materials name and contact details. Starting January 1, 2026, Toronto residents contact Circular Materials instead of the City for missed collections and bin repairs.

In smaller communities like St. Thomas, the transition was more straightforward. Recycling collection continues for residential properties, but the service provider changed. In St. Thomas, Miller Waste now handles recycling collection, and customer service runs through 1-888-852-2376. Your collection day likely stayed the same. The truck might look different.

Across the province, the practical changes for most homeowners are minor: same bin, same collection schedule, a few more items accepted, different phone number if something goes wrong. The big changes are happening behind the scenes, in the funding model, the reporting requirements, and who pays for what.

The Circular Materials App for Ontario Residents

Circular Materials released a recycling app in early 2026 that works across all Ontario communities under their program. You enter your address, and the app tells you exactly what materials are accepted in your Blue Bin, your collection schedule, and provides pickup reminders.

This is actually useful because even with the unified materials list, there can be minor local variations in collection logistics. The app is available through the Circular Materials website and through app stores. If you have been using a municipal recycling app like Recycle Coach or your city's own waste app, it is worth checking whether the Circular Materials version is more current, since the province-wide data now flows through their system.

For a detailed look at how the app works and what it covers, see our Circular Materials app guide.

Where Mattresses Fit Into All of This

Here is the part that matters most to our customers: mattresses are not part of the Blue Box regulation. Not even close.

O. Reg. 391/21 covers materials primarily composed of glass, flexible or rigid plastic, metal, paper, or combinations of those materials. A mattress is made of steel coils, polyurethane foam, cotton, polyester, wood frames, and fire-retardant fibres. It does not fit neatly into any of the Blue Box material categories, and the regulation was not designed for bulky goods.

Ontario's original plan under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act was to designate mattresses as a regulated material by approximately 2020. That deadline came and went. As of early 2026, no new timeline has been set for a provincial mattress EPR program. British Columbia has one through its Extended Producer Responsibility program for mattresses, but Ontario does not.

This means mattress disposal in Ontario remains a patchwork of municipal programmes, private services, and retailer take-back arrangements. There is no provincial standard, no producer obligation, and no unified system. Each municipality handles it differently.

Disposing of Your Old Mattress Responsibly in Brantford

Since the province is not handling it, you need to know your local options. In Brantford, you have four main paths for getting rid of an old mattress.

City of Brantford Bulk Pickup. Residential properties in Brantford qualify for free bulk item pickup twice per year. Mattresses qualify as bulk items. You need to give 7 days' notice, and the mattress must be wrapped in plastic and placed at the curb. Schedule online at bulkpickup.brantford.ca or call 519-756-1300. This is the cheapest option (free), but you only get two bulk pickups per year, and the scheduling can take a week or more.

Mohawk Street Landfill Drop-off. If you can transport the mattress yourself, you can bring it to the landfill at 20 Morrison Road, Brantford. Call 519-759-4150 to confirm current fees and hours before making the trip. You will need a vehicle that can carry a mattress, and there may be a tipping fee.

Retailer Take-Back. When you buy a new mattress, many retailers will haul away your old one as part of the delivery. At Mattress Miracle, we offer mattress removal with our white-glove delivery service throughout Southern Ontario. Brad and the team coordinate old mattress removal when we deliver your new one, so you are not stuck trying to wrestle a queen mattress down a staircase and into the back of a borrowed pickup truck. One trip, done properly.

Private Junk Removal. Companies like 1-800-GOT-JUNK, local haulers, and small operators will pick up mattresses for a fee, typically $80 to $150 depending on access and the number of items. This is the fastest option if you need same-day or next-day removal.

For our complete guide to mattress disposal options in the Brantford area, including county-specific details, see our Mattress Disposal Brantford Guide.

What About Mattress Packaging Waste?

Even though the mattress itself is not covered by EPR, the packaging it comes in absolutely is. If you order a bed-in-a-box, it arrives in a cardboard box with plastic wrap, foam inserts, and possibly a polyethylene compression bag. All of that packaging falls under O. Reg. 391/21, and the producer (the mattress manufacturer or importer) is financially responsible for its recycling.

For you as a consumer, this means that packaging goes in your Blue Bin. Flatten the cardboard box, stuff the plastic wrap inside, and set it out on collection day. Under the new unified materials list, these items are accepted everywhere in Ontario.

When you buy from a brick-and-mortar store like ours, the packaging situation is different. Traditional mattress delivery involves the mattress arriving on a truck in a protective plastic bag. Our delivery team removes the packaging and takes it with them. You never have to deal with it. The packaging waste is managed through the commercial waste stream, not your residential Blue Bin. That is one of the practical advantages of buying from a local store instead of ordering online.

For more on eco-friendly mattress options and what sustainability actually looks like in the mattress industry, our eco-friendly mattress guide covers certified materials, recyclability, and what to look for.

Related Reading

• Mattress Disposal Brantford: How to Get Rid of Your Old Bed
• Ontario IC&I Blue Box Recycling Changes 2026
• Circular Materials App for Ontario Residents 2026
• Best Eco-Friendly Mattress Canada 2026
• Ontario Unified Recycling Materials List 2026
• Brantford Mattress Disposal & Recycling 2026
• Mattress Disposal Laws for Ontario Landlords 2026 | Mattress Miracle Brantford
• Mattress Disposal and Recycling in Ontario: A Complete Guide