Cups from Tim Hortons no longer trash in Mississauga, Brampton or Caledon

Items that had previously ended up in garbage bins in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon can now be recycled.

Under the new guidelines introduced in Ontario at the beginning of 2026, residents of Peel Region can rethink their waste management plans as the province works to streamline recycling operations.

Until now, municipalities across Ontario have had different rules regarding what can be placed in blue bins and blue boxes, which has created confusion for almost everyone involved in the process. It led to contaminating recycling efforts when items that didn’t belong ended up in recycling bins.

On Jan. 1, Peel Region, along with other Ontario municipalities, transferred responsibility for their recycling programs to Circular Materials, a national not-for-profit organization. While the service provider for recycling has shifted, Peel residents will continue to use their current blue recycling bin. There will also be no change to recycling collection days or schedule.

While this new system will bring uniformity across the province, it does mean that Peel residents can now add a few more items to the blue bin that were previously not accepted here.

Here are the new acceptables:

• Shredded paper
• Items such as ice cream containers and hot and cold beverage cups
• small item packaging
• Items such as chip bags, deli pouches, snack wrappers, and cereal liner bags
• Aluminum – foil items

Hot and cold beverage cups have been an item that environmental groups have long argued for acceptance into recycling programs. Although some jurisdictions accepted the cups, Peel did not, until now. The problem with the cups in the past was that even though they are made of paper, they contained a plastic coating, which made it difficult to pass through the recycling process.

This means that coffee cups from Tim Hortons and other establishments, along with soft drink cups from places like McDonald’s, can now be recycled instead of ending up in landfill.

Other items of note that can be recycled are glass containers, metal, foam packaging, flexible plastic, plastic containers and traditional items such as paper and cardboard.

On the other hand, some items that could be recycled before are no longer accepted in the blue bins. They include soft-cover books and alcoholic beverage containers.

A complete guide on what can and cannot be recycled can be found by following this link.