Waste & Recycling Services
Regular household waste is collected every Friday and recyclables are collected on alternate weeks. The Green box and Blue box are used for recycling collection. Alternatively, you may use another sturdy container as long as recycling is sorted properly and put out on the correct day. Place your recycling box out only when full and no later than 8:00 a.m. and leave out until after 8 p.m. on your collection day along with your bagged household waste. Please be courteous and collect any waste or recycling that has blown away from your property.
If you have any questions regarding recycling, please call the service provider; Emterra: Emterra’s customer service at 1-888-597-1541 or customercareont@emterra.ca or the Village of South River: (705)386-2573.
The DON’Ts of recycling…
Do not bag your recyclables or put plastic bags in your blue box.
Other items that are not recyclable include items soiled with food or other waste, small food crates, hoses and wires and bulky items like old toys, small appliances or propane canisters.
Household garbage is collected every Friday and is limited to 2 bags per household.
For Full list of recycling items visit Circular Materials - Ontario Recycling
What are the blue box changes?
From July 2023 to the end of December 2025, all municipalities in Ontario will transition their blue box program to a new collection model. Under the new model, the companies that produce blue box materials will be required to fully fund and operate the recycling system.
In 2026, there will be two new enhancements to the blue box program, including:
- Ontarians will be able to recycle more types of materials and this list of materials will be the same across Ontario for the first time.
- There will be free blue box collection for schools (public, separate, and private that teach Kindergarten to Grade 12), non-profit retirement and long-term care homes, and multi-residential properties (e.g., apartments and condos).
Who is responsible for blue box collection?
As of July 2023, the companies that produce blue box materials sold in Ontario will be responsible and held accountable for collecting these materials and recycling them into new products.
These companies, also known as Producers, will fulfill their regulatory obligations collectively through Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs). The PROs have come together to run a single, new, province-wide common collection system. The approved common collection system administrator is a non-profit company called Circular Materials.
Circular Materials will be responsible for the collection of blue box materials from homes and residential buildings across Ontario, including the residential portion of mixed commercial and residential properties.
If you live, work, or visit another municipality, please check local resources for instructions on how to use the new recycling system.
By January 2026, all municipalities in Ontario will be switched over to this new producer responsibility collection system.
Why are these changes happening?
The Government of Ontario has introduced provincial legislation that changes how blue box materials are managed and collected in Ontario.
The Blue Box Regulation, made under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, is a key pillar of the Government of Ontario’s Strategy for a Waste Free Ontario: Building the Circular Economy. Under the regulation, municipalities and First Nation communities in Ontario will move from the current system, which splits costs between municipal taxpayers and Producers of blue box materials, to a new system which requires the Producers to pay for and operate the system and achieve performance targets. Producers will be responsible for collecting and recycling blue box materials, reporting to the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority, and meeting increasing targets for materials they collect and recycle.
Placing full financial, operational, and performance accountability for the blue box program on the Producers of blue box materials creates a direct incentive to reduce waste and improve recycling which decreases natural resource extraction and pollution, including greenhouse gases.
Industrial, commercial, and institutional properties
Industrial, commercial, and institutional (IC&I) waste is regulated separately from residential waste in Ontario.
As of January 2026, the Village's recycling collection program will end, and IC&I will not be served by Circular Materials as per the Government of Ontario’s regulation.
The Government of Ontario’s Strategy for a Waste Free Ontario envisions a new approach to modernize the way these properties recycle, however the current Blue Box Regulation does not include IC&I properties as eligible collection sources (excluding Kindergarten to Grade 12 schools and non-profit retirement and long-term care).
Resources
LARGE ITEM PICK-UP dates for 2026 are Friday April 24, Friday August 21 and Friday November 6. This service is for bulky items, not a large quantity of small items and does not include automotive, steel, bbq’s, water coolers or hazmat items. Register your items by calling the municipal office no later than 4 p.m. on the Monday prior to the pick-up. Items must be out to the curb by 8 a.m. on the day of pick-up.
A SEASONAL COMPOST collection is scheduled for the spring and fall. This service is for the collection of lawn rakings, leaves and small bundles of brush and twigs. Brush must cut into 4’ lengths and tied into manageable bundles. Compost collection normally takes place on Mondays for the months of May and October with the exception of statutory holidays; in which case compost will be collected on Tuesday of that week. This service is provided by municipal staff and may be delayed due to circumstances beyond control of the village i.e. (weather, unplanned water distribution maintenance, emergencies, etc.) Christmas trees will be picked up on Monday, January 6, 2025
City of North Bay Hazardous Waste Program
Residents of North Bay and surrounding townships can take these items to the Household Hazardous Waste Depot located next to the Recycling Center at 112 Patton St., free of charge. The Household Hazardous Waste Depot is open Wednesday to Saturday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., year round.
Leftover paints, old batteries, medicines and motor oil are all part of a long list of items classified as household hazardous wastes. If not disposed of properly, they can be harmful to not only the environment, but to human health. Disposing of hazardous waste by pouring it down the drain may corrode plumbing, poison septic tanks, destroy sewage treatment organisms, release toxic fumes and contaminate surface and groundwater.
There are limits to how much waste residents can bring per trip. Please, do not bring more than 60 litres of waster at any one time. Greater quantities can be rejected at the discretion of staff.
The City is part of Stewardship Ontario’s Orange Drop Program. This is a recycling program aimed at keeping hazardous waste out of Ontario’s landfills and waterways. The Orange Drop program ensures that the materials you drop off are recycled or otherwise disposed of in a safe and environmentally-friendly matter. Since this program is industry funded, it means you do not pay the costs in your property taxes, and your participation helps keep toxic items out of the landfill.
For general inquiries, please contact the Wasteline or Waste Management 705-474-0400, ext. 2333.
For more information please visit City of North Bay Website
The following products are examples of Household Hazardous Waste that should be taken to the HHW Depot: