The private sector becomes responsible for recycling collection on January 1, and the City of Hamilton says the new collector will be expected to have 1500 public recycling containers—up from the 400 to 600 the City presently has.
Hamilton’s Manager of Waste Policy and Planning Ryan Kent says the Province’s standards will require Circular Materials—the new private sector province-wide recycling provider—to have around 1500 public recycling containers across Hamilton.
“There is a formula to determine how many recycling containers we need in the city of Hamilton, just like any municipality,” Kent told Hamilton’s business improvement areas yesterday [May 13, 2025]. “I think the number that producers have to have out there is around 1500. I think for all of the recycling containers we have out there right now, including at transit stops, we’re somewhere between 400 and 600.”
Kent says the containers must be collected “I believe, at minimum, once per week.”
“There should be no recycling overflowing … it is the responsibility of the producer or the contractor to collect the material to make sure that it is not a nuisance to the municipality.”
On April 1st, Circular Materials took responsibility for recycling collection from the City of Hamilton. Circular maintained the existing City of Hamilton contracts with GFL for collection.
No changes are being made to collection dates or materials accepted during the transition period between April 1 and December 31.
New province-wide collection rules will take effect on January 1, 2026, and the City will no longer be responsible for public space recycling containers.
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Published: May 14, 2025
Last updated: May 14, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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