Blue Box (container)
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A Blue Box container is a rigid plastic container used to hold recyclable materials. It was introduced in the recycling programs, often called the 'Blue Box program' in Ontario and British Columbia in the 1980s. Blue Boxes were first introduced in Kitchener, Ontario's East Ward neighborhood.
The boxes initially collected material such as:
Plastic bottles used for beverages was later added over the years.
The containers are left on the curb in the evening before or on the day of the recycling pickups by waste collection vehicles. Special trucks are employed to collect the materials and sorted into special compartments. Some area's now allow the consumer to mix all recyclables in the same box. As a result, the new trucks do not have separate compartments for the items and the sortation is done at the recycling facility by machines.
The blue box gradually replace the newspaper collection (papers were the first recycled materials and were often tied by string or placed in bags for separately collection); Type 2 plastics, cardboard, other paper products, paperboard.
Today, many Blue Box programs accept all forms of paper materials, nearly all plastic-types, glass, aluminum, and tin.
The bins are provided to residents living in houses only. Apartment buildings also have large blue containers to which any resident can deliver their household recyclable waste.
In some jurisdictions, larger blue bins are replacing the blue box due to the limited space to hold large volumes of recyclable materials.
Other containers to collect recyclable products:
- Green box - used in North York, Ontario
- Green bin - composted materials
- Grey box - paper and cardboard
- Recycling bins - boxes with holes to allow users to drop in material for recycling
