“Our award-winning blue box campaign continues to remind residents about proper recycling techniques in order to divert waste from landfill,” says Mayor John Taylor. “York Region recently announced that all nine municipalities, including Newmarket, have helped achieve 66% waste diversion (94% including energy from waste processing). This is a great accomplishment and an increase in waste diversion when compared to 2021. Please continue to do what you do best- keeping Newmarket clean, green, and litter free.”
From August 21 to September 15, Town staff will visit neighbourhoods at random to perform visual inspections of blue boxes placed at the curb for collection. Residents can anticipate seeing one of two different sets of door hangers left behind once the inspection is done. One door hanger will identify that there are items in the blue box that do not belong, and the second door hanger will point out that the residents of the home are doing a good job with their recycling efforts. Please note that this is an educational program, and no enforcement will be conducted by the staff member. However, our collection contractor GFL may leave blue boxes at the curb if contamination is found and if set-out requirements are not met.
Items placed in the blue box that are not accepted in the blue box program are considered contamination. This includes plastic shopping bags, plastic bags full of recyclables, newspapers still in their plastic sleeve, Styrofoam, take-out cups, black plastic, and any food or liquids left in containers.
Items placed in the blue box that don’t belong can cause processing challenges. These items can have a negative impact on the sorting process and impacts the quality and value of recovered blue box material.
Residents are reminded to review the Town’s blue box recycling webpage for more information about the blue box program. If you aren’t sure what goes where, use the Recycle Coach App feature on the Town’s website or download the app onto your mobile device to find out.
Keep these recycling tips in mind when placing material into your blue box:
Plastic bags, plastic wrap and plastic sleeve bags used for newspapers are not accepted in the blue box. Please remove and discard plastic sleeve bags before placing your newspaper in the blue box.
Remove all food residue from containers before recycling. Wipe food residue with a paper towel before placing the item in the blue box. The paper towel can be placed in the green bin.
Textiles (cloth items) do not belong in the blue box. Take these items to a textile recycling bin located at one of Newmarket’s facilities.
Plastic toys, batteries, medical waste, coffee pods and take-out cups and Styrofoam take-out containers do not belong in the blue box.
Do not overfill your blue box to the point of overflow. Flatten boxes to save space.
Place heavier items on top of lighter items in your blue box. This will help prevent lighter materials, such as paper, from blowing out of the bin and becoming litter.
Cardboard boxes can be placed out for collection beside your blue box if flattened and in securely tied bundles no larger than 36” x 36” x 8”.
Residents can exchange their broken blue box for free by calling Green For Life (GFL) at 1-866-421-5625 and scheduling a replacement bin exchange.
For more information, please visit newmarket.ca/wasteandrecycling
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