Blue Box Program

Our comprehensive waste management program reflects a commitment to helping every community across the province reduce waste and promote recycling whenever possible.

Since 1998, the LCBO has provided $4 million per year directly to Ontario municipalities to defray the cost of processing LCBO containers through their Blue Box programs. This process led to the creation of the Waste Diversion Act in 2001 and Waste Diversion Ontario in 2002. Blue Box waste, including LCBO containers, was the first material designated by the Minister of the Environment under the act. Under the act, generators of Blue Box waste remit payments to Stewardship Ontario to cover 50 per cent of the cost of recycling. For the first time, curbside recycling is financially stable and industry is contributing its share of the cost.

The LCBO has played a pivotal role in Ontario’s waste diversion strategy. For many years, it was the only source of funds for the initiative, providing $1 million to establish Waste Diversion Ontario, interim municipal financing of $20 million between 1998 and 2003, and $5 million per year through 2005 under the Blue Box Program Plan.

To date, the LCBO has contributed over $50 million to Stewardship Ontario.

Ontario Deposit Return Program

Since the start of the Ontario Deposit Return Program in 2007, an impressive three billion containers have been sorted for optimal recycling use and diverted from landfills. Glass bottles are being turned into new bottles, aluminum into new cans and other manufactured goods, and PET plastic bottles into textiles and packaging.

Our recycling efforts don’t stop there. The LCBO also recycles almost all of its cardboard, plastic shrink wrap, paper, defective alcohol, batteries and electronic waste.