Published Online: July 10, 2026

Written by: Patty Winsa (Toronto Star)

"A growing number of Ontario municipalities will no longer accept used tires because an organization tasked with shipping them to recycling depots isn’t clearing the tires out of municipal waste depots fast enough.

In Chatham-Kent, that has resulted in thousands of tires piling up at three of its depots, hampering daily operations and creating a fire hazard, says Huda Oda, the municipality’s manager of waste management.

“Due to significant and ongoing constraints in the tire recycling sector and other factors,” said Oda, “tires at our depots have not been serviced regularly.” ..."

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Published Online: July 14, 2026

Written by: Gerry Dewan (CTV News)

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Summary provided by MWA: 

This is exactly the kind of innovation we need. Finding ways to transform difficult-to-recycle textiles into a product that improves soil health is a great example of the circular economy in action. Looking forward to seeing this research continue to scale.

Published Online: July 11, 2026 

Written by: Waste Advantage Magazine

"Paul van Trotsenburg, Test Center Manager at Van Dyk Recycling Solutions, answers some common questions about the company’s full-scale testing facility.

What was the vision behind investing in a facility of this scale, and how has that size translated into a competitive advantage for your customers?

Van Dyk’s test facility was purpose-built around one core mission: customer success. For us, success is when we validate new material streams, new processes, and new technologies to make customers more profitable. This is the largest recycling test facility in the world and the only one of its kind at this scale. The size gives us the capacity to run extensive, uninterrupted trials that truly mirror real world MRF conditions as opposed to running small batches of materials on demo-scale machines. ..."

Continue reading the article here.

Published Online: July 13, 2026

Written by: Arlene Karidis

"For the waste and recycling sector, investing the resources to report Scope 3 emissions can be a lot of squeeze for not a lot of juice. Unlike many manufacturing sectors, the industry's largest and most controllable emissions are captured in Scope 1 and Scope 2.

In this Waste360 Q&A, Anne Germain, chief technical and regulatory affairs, NWRA, explains why some companies are beginning to track Scope 3 emissions. She highlights the supply-chain complexities of reporting these indirect footprints--and she outlines how waste companies avoid double-counting emissions across different reporting entities. ..."

Read the Q&A article here. 

Published Online: July 9, 2026

Written by: Brian Taylor

"Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based Collective Waste Solutions Inc. has announced its acquisition of City Disposal and City Ecobag, sister companies operating in Edmonton, Alberta.

It is the latest in a sequence of acquisitions made by Collective Waste, which is a portfolio company of Chicago-based private investment firm Concentric Equity Partners.

Collective Waste describes City Disposal and City Ecobag as providing, front-load, roll-off and bin collection services, as well as fencing and construction waste bulk bag services.

“The acquisition significantly expands Collective’s commercial and construction services platform in Edmonton and enhances its municipal service capabilities across the region,” states Collective Waste. ..."

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Published Online: July 8, 2026

Written by: Lee Daigle & Seamus Crane

"Horizontal landfill gas collection systems have long been used as a practical tool for collecting landfill gas during active filling, before final grades are reached and before conventional vertical wells can be installed. As landfill operators face continued pressure to improve methane capture, manage odors, reduce surface emission exceedances and coordinate gas collection with ongoing operations, horizontal collectors offer an important solution if properly designed and maintained.

A recent SWANA Applied Research Foundation (ARF) report on horizontal landfill gas (LFG) collection systems provides updated guidance for solid waste managers, engineers and landfill operators seeking to design, install and operate these systems more effectively. ..."

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Published Online: July 8, 2026

Written by: Katelyn Wilson (CTV News)

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Summary provided by MWA: 

It's easy to look at photos of curbside debris and assume nothing is happening behind the scenes, but a storm of this scale, with thousands of basements flooded across the city in a single event, creates a logistical challenge that doesn't resolve in a matter of days. Coordinating waste crews, equipment, and routes across multiple affected neighbourhoods simultaneously takes real planning, and the fact that the city has already announced a second round of collection for the west-end flood zones shows this isn't a one-and-done effort being abandoned after the initial cleanup push. That's a meaningful signal that the response is being adjusted based on what's actually happening on the ground, not just following a static plan.

None of that erases what residents in Crystal Beach are dealing with. A week of rotting food and sewage-contaminated debris sitting outside a home is a legitimate health and quality-of-life concern, and their frustration is fair. But recovery from a flood event of this magnitude is rarely linear. Crews often have to triage based on volume, accessibility, and public health risk, and a second collection wave suggests the city recognizes the first pass didn't fully close the gap. Municipal workers are almost certainly stretched thin right now, and the residents pushing publicly for faster action are also part of what keeps that response moving.

Published Online: July 8, 2026

Written by: Megan Quinn

"Thrift stores are a first line of defense against textile waste, and changing attitudes about thrifting and resale could help shape recycling systems and divert more material from landfills in coming years, said speakers at the Northeast Recycling Council’s material reuse forum webinar on Tuesday.

Secondhand clothing is playing a powerful role in U.S. textile export markets, which in turn influences how and when textiles end up in recycling streams, said executives from thrift stores and researchers from the National Institute for Standards in Technology. ..."

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Published Online: July 5, 2026

Written by: Catherine Garrett

"Residents of the Nass Valley in northwestern B.C. no longer have to travel to Terrace to drop off their recycling.

Instead, they are able to set plastics, tin cans, cardboard and other household recyclables out in blue bins and colour coded bags every week for curbside pick up.

The four Nisg̱a'a village governments — Gitlaxt'aamiks (New Aiyansh), Lax̱g̱alts'ap, Gitwinksihlkw, and Ging̱olx — have been working on the initiative for approximately two years. It was done in partnership with the Indigenous Zero Waste Technical Advisory Group and Recycle B.C. ..."

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Published Online: June 22, 2026

Written by: Audrey Trevarthan

"WM has opened a new recycling facility in Cambridge, Ontario, marking a milestone in the company’s investment in modern recycling infrastructure across the province, including close to $300 million invested across two new facilities in Ontario.

First announced in 2024 as part of a dual-facility development in Cambridge and the Greater Napanee region, the site is now operational and designed to support Ontario’s transition to a Blue Box recycling system in collaboration with Toronto-based Circular Materials. Under this extended producer responsibility (EPR) framework, WM says producers fund the system while qualified service providers deliver collection and processing. This investment aligns with Ontario’s broader policy direction, including the province’s Strategy for a Waste-Free Ontario and Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan. ..."

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Published Online: June 18, 2026

Written by: Jacob Wallace and Megan Quinn

"Artificial intelligence integrations are a logical next step in optimizing everything from fleets to pricing to customer service and billing, said waste industry professionals at the Waste Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., last week.

In a series of panels, technology companies pitched AI-based solutions to fleet managers, and executives from the industry’s top companies said they plan to spend millions of dollars to incorporate AI into their businesses.

The industry has already adopted notable tech advancements meant to improve safety and reduce labor costs, such as automation at MRFs and in-cab safety cameras in trucks. Today, waste companies are adding AI capabilities to their routing, pricing and customer service strategies to refine and reassess these operations in new ways.

“There’s opportunity around every corner, and we are leaning into leveraging technology across every aspect of our operation,” said Tara Hemmer, COO at WM, during the summit. ..."

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Published Online: June 8, 2026

Written by: Jacob Wallace

"The British Columbia Utilities Commission reaffirmed utilities’ right to purchase credits for renewable natural gas as part of their decarbonization strategies, notching a win for a biogas industry that largely relies on such regulatory structures.

So-called book-and-claim systems work by allowing a utility looking to reduce the carbon impact of the fossil-based gas in its pipelines to finance landfill and anaerobic digestion RNG projects in other parts of North America and claim the resulting RNG as part of its system. Biogas industry groups support such schemes because they expand the pool of potential investors in RNG projects, similar to the broader carbon offset industry. ..."

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Published Online: June 15, 2026

Written by: Samuele Barrili

"Let me tell you a story that should make every waste company owner in America uncomfortable. A mid-sized hauler I worked with in the Southeast was collecting food waste from 14 restaurant accounts and a regional grocery chain. Every week, roughly 40 tons of organic material went straight into the compactor, mixed with general MSW, and got buried in a lined cell at the local landfill. The tipping fees alone were running north of $60 per ton. The methane liability was building invisibly underground. And the phone calls from the municipality about odor complaints were becoming a monthly ritual. That operator was paying to destroy value.

Forty tons per week of organic material that contained recoverable nutrients, convertible energy, and marketable soil amendment products—all of it getting crushed, buried, and forgotten. Meanwhile, landscaping companies in the same county were importing bagged compost from three states away. Local farms were spending thousands on synthetic fertilizers and a biogas developer 20 miles down the road was actively looking for feedstock. The waste was not the problem. The business model was the problem. ..."

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Published Online: June 2, 2026

Written by: Jean-Thomas Léveillé (La Presse)

"Materials recovered by TerraCycle have already been sent to landfill, says the president of a Quebec company whose mandate was to sort materials recovered by the American multinational.

"A good portion of what we received ended up in the garbage because we were not paid for [the work]," says Éric Éthier, president of Go Zero, a company working in plastic packaging.

Go Zero was not contractually bound to TerraCycle, it was rather the subcontractor of another subcontractor, Sinclair Consulting Services – the owner of Sinclair Consulting Services, Serge Sinclair, did not return calls from La Presse. ...."

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Published Online: June 3, 2026

Written by: Elizabeth Segran (Fast Company)

"The lights drop, the first chord detonates, and somewhere in a stadium packed with 60,000 people you’re holding a cold beer.

At a growing number of stadiums in the United States, your beverage cup isn’t made of flimsy plastic you’d toss into a bin on the way out. It’s a sturdy, reusable cup, designed to be handed back, washed, and ready for the next customer.

This isn’t hypothetical. Coldplay served drinks in reusable cups during its Music of the Spheres World Tour, and Billie Eilish went a step further, writing reuse into her tour rider, from refillable bottles and mugs for the crew and water refill stations for fans.

Getting that cup into your hand is enormously complicated—a tangle of collection hubs, wash facilities, digital tracking, contracts, and standards almost no one in the crowd will ever see. And today, consumers will become acquainted with a new icon that identifies a product as reusable. ..." 

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Published: June 1, 2026

2025 Annual Report, Auditor General Recommendations Tracker, and additional public reporting data now available

The report highlights RPRA’s key 2025 activities in compliance and enforcement, communications, public reporting, stakeholder engagement, service delivery, financial performance, and audited financial statements.

RPRA's website with additional resources

Read the Report here

Overview
The Carton Council works to expand the collection, sorting, and end markets for food and beverage cartons across the United States and Canada. One important way to strengthen carton recycling is by supporting schools in establishing and improving recycling programs to recover more recyclable cartons.

Through this grant program, the Carton Council provides financial assistance to K-12 schools to help implement, expand, or enhance carton recycling programs in cafeterias and other areas where food and beverage cartons are consumed. In 2026, the program will prioritize schools located in communities with newly available or recently expanded carton recycling access, helping to reinforce these programs and ensure cartons are consistently captured and recycled.

Funded projects support real-world recycling by increasing participation and ensuring cartons are successfully recovered and delivered to recycling end markets where they can be made into new products.

Read more about eligibility and to apply click here.

Published online: April 22, 2026

Written by: Carton Council of Canada

Across Canada, recycling systems for packaging and paper products – including food and beverage cartons – continued to evolve in the past twelve months, with provinces at various stages of implementing or refining extended producer responsibility (EPR) curbside collection and deposit return programs. From Ontario’s completion of its historic blue box transition to launches in Alberta, Nova Scotia and the Yukon, it was another year of significant milestones. Here’s our annual overview of where things stand, province by province.

Read the full article here. 

Published Online: April 20, 2026

Written by: Rachel Kagan (PPEC)

Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ) recently released its 2025 Review on the Modernized Curbside Recycling System, representing the first full year operating under a full Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model, where producers are responsible for both funding and operating the packaging recycling system.

While Québec has had a legislated packaging EPR program in place for decades, it was under a shared responsibility model where municipalities operated recycling systems as the designated service providers, while producers – businesses that put packaging on the market in Québec – funded the costs of operating the program.

Read the full article here. 

Published Online: February 24, 2026

Written by: Stephanie Bontorin

"Recycle BC, the not-for-profit organization responsible for residential packaging and paper product recycling throughout British Columbia, has officially created a new pathway for apartments and condos in the City of Vancouver to recycle flexible plastics. Residents can now use the bright pink flexible plastics carts located in the recycling area of communal buildings.

Residents living in apartment and condo buildings are encouraged to start putting out flexible plastics for collection by placing accepted materials into the pink cart located at their building. Collection takes place weekly, on the same day as other recycling services. ..."

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Published Online: February 25, 2026

Written by: Rachel Kagan, Paper & Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council

"On January 30, 2026, the Federal Court of Appeal upheld the federal government’s decision to list “plastic manufactured items” as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). As a result of the unanimous decision, Canada’s Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations remains in effect, maintaining the ban on the manufacture and sale of single-use plastic items.

The decision provides long-awaited clarity by confirming that the legal foundation for the federal plastics ban is reasonable and will remain in force. ..."

Read the full blog article here. 

Published Online: February 24, 2026

Written by Waste Advantage Magazine

"Keurig Canada Inc., operating as Keurig Dr Pepper Canada, and Circular Materials announced that all empty K-Cup® pods produced by KDP Canada, across its owned, licensed and partner brands, are now accepted for recycling at home in Ontario’s Blue Box Program. This marks an important advancement in the province’s transition to a new and enhanced extended producer responsibility (EPR) recycling system for packaging and paper products. The program is 100% funded by producers – the companies that supply packaging and paper products to consumers in Ontario, including the familiar brands and retailers residents interact with every day. This means municipalities and taxpayers no longer pay for recycling services. ..."

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Published Online: February 17, 2026

Written by: Waste & Recycling News Staff

"Ecolomondo Corporation announced it has secured $2.7 million in additional financing to support the final stage of the ramp-up of operations at its Hawkesbury tire-derived products (TDP) facility.

The Company previously announced on January 12, 2026, that it had reached an agreement in principle with Export Development Canada (EDC) for the financing to support additional capital investments and working capital requirements at the Hawkesbury, Ontario facility. In addition to the financing, EDC has agreed to a temporary principal and interest payment holiday on existing loans during the company’s 2026 operational ramp-up period.

The Hawkesbury TDP facility achieved record production during the week of January 12, 2026. During that period, the facility processed approximately 150,000 pounds (6,800 kg) of crumb rubber, producing approximately 60,000 pounds (27,205 kg) of recovered carbon black, 75,000 pounds (34,019 kg) of tire-derived oil, and 15,000 pounds (6,800 kg) of syngas, representing the processing of approximately 9,375 scrap tires. ..."

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Published Online: February 5, 2026

Written by: Stephanie Bontorin

"As of the beginning of 2026, households across Ontario will benefit from a new producer-funded, province-wide recycling program that makes it easier to recycle more materials. WM is supporting this enhanced system with two new processing facilities, which are now open and have begun operations in Cambridge and the Greater Napanee area.

What's improved with the new recycling system?
With capacity to support the processing of approximately 30 percent of Ontario's total blue box volumes, these facilities have a critical role in helping to optimize the province's new recycling system. These new sites will help streamline processes, particularly as Circular Materials rolls out a new unified material list across the province which expands the number of items that can be recycled. Now Ontarians, no matter where they live in the province, can recycle the same items, including hot and cold beverage cups (coffee cups), black plastic containers, frozen juice containers, ice cream tubs, toothpaste tubes, deodorant, and more. A unified and enhanced system will help make it easier for residents to recycle more materials, improving recovery rates. ..."

Read the full article here.

Published Online: February 3, 2026

Written by: Recycling Product News Staff

"On Friday, January 30, the Federal Court of Appeal upheld its decision to list plastic manufactured items as a "toxic substance" under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act,1999 (CEPA).

This listing enables the federal government to regulate plastic products, including through the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations. In its decision, the Court found the government's approach to be reasonable, recognizing that plastics have the potential to cause harm to both human health and the environment.

As a result of this ruling, the federal ban on six categories of single-use plastics remains in effect:
Bags
Straws
Stir sticks
Cutlery
Ring carriers
Certain takeout containers ..."

Read the full article here.