Did you know that more than half of your household waste can be recycled? Most communities and municipalities around the province offer the opportunity to recycle items in your home that contribute to half of your household waste. For example, milk cartons, glass food and beverage containers, plastic bottles, juice boxes, margarine containers, aluminum cans, cardboard, newspapers, cereal boxes, and steel food containers can all go in your blue bin! For more information on what other materials (tires, oils, electronics, batteries) you can recycle and collection sites, please visit the Recycle Manitoba website.
Are milk cartons and juice boxes recyclable?
Gable top containers (i.e., milk cartons) and aseptic containers (i.e., juice boxes) are completely recyclable because they are mostly made of paper.
How do I know when my recyclables will be collected?
To find out when recyclables will be collected in your community, contact the local waste department in your municipality. Many cities, including Brandon, Steinbach, Portage la Prairie, and Winnipeg have online collection calendars.
What happens to our recyclables once they are picked up from my home?
Once the recyclables are picked up from your home, they are transported to your local MRF (Materials Recovery Facility) to be processed. The materials are then baled and placed in the shipping area to await transportation to manufacturing plants. Due to market conditions and supply and demand, materials are shipped around North America and even throughout the world.
Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba (MMSM) is a not-for-profit, industry-funded organization that develops, implements, and operates residential recycling programs for designated packaging and printed paper in the Province of Manitoba.
What is “industry funding recycling?”
A group of packaging and printed paper stewards provide up to 80% of the funds for efficient municipal recycling programs across the province. These stewards include brand owners, importers and franchisors – essentially the producers – of consumer goods that are sold in Manitoba.
Don’t our taxes fund recycling?
While MMSM funds up to 80% of recycling program costs through steward contributions, Manitoba communities fund the remaining portion of their program costs with funding from taxes, levies on the waste that is sent to landfills, and in some cases from revenue of material sales (depending on market conditions.)
Doesn’t my community look after the materials I put out for recycling?
Yes, each community arranges to collect the materials either through its own collection services or under contract to private sector collectors. Depending on the contract arrangement between the community and the contractor, the community or the contractor may market the materials to end markets for the materials to be recycled into new products. MMSM funding applies to operating costs such as collection and processing.
Who do I contact about a missed pickup or a broken cart in the City of Winnipeg?
Please reach out the city via 311 or by email at 311@winnipeg.ca.
How do I find out more about MMSM?
MMSM’s corporate website is Stewardship Manitoba. We always welcome direct contact by phone at (204) 953-2010 or by reaching out to us on our Contact Us page.