FAQs

When they join the program, each Oxford County household will receive a 7-litre kitchen container to collect food scraps and a 45-litre green bin to set out at the curb on collection day.

South-West Oxford and Woodstock receive their bins in October and November 2025. 

All other Oxford municipalities (Blandford-Blenheim, East Zorra-Tavistock, Ingersoll, Norwich, Tillsonburg and Zorra) will receive their green bins in spring 2027.

Green bins and kitchen containers are being delivered to homes in Woodstock and South-West Oxford in October and November 2025. If you have not received your green bin by November 30 if you are a resident of Woodstock, or December 5 if you are a resident of South-West Oxford, please contact Oxford County at info@wasteline.ca or 1-800-755-0394, ext. 3159.

Green bins and kitchen containers will be delivered to homes in Blandford-Blenheim, East Zorra-Tavistock, Ingersoll, Norwich, Tillsonburg and Zorra in May 2027, when the green bin program starts in those communities. 

Acceptable waste for the green bin includes food scraps and other biodegradable materials, such as facial tissue and paper towels, compostable paper plates, etc. For a full list of acceptable and unacceptable items, see the sorting guide

No, bag tags are not needed for green bin organic waste. 

The 45-litre green bin container will be sold by Oxford County at cost starting January 2026. The price for a green bin is $19, including HST. For more information visit www.oxfordcounty.ca/services-for-you/garbage-recycling/containers-for-sale/

It is estimated that one green bin should meet the weekly organic recycling needs of a family of four.

To have your organic waste collected, it must be in an Oxford County-issued green bin. 

We hope residents will try the program before opting out. If everyone participates, it will significantly reduce waste sent to the landfill, and using a green bin will significantly reduce the amount of household waste that is set out as garbage and that requires a bag tag to be collected. Bag tags are not need for organic waste. 

If you would like to return your green bin, please contact Oxford County’s Waste Management program at 1-800-755-0394, ext. 3159, or info@wasteline.ca

Please note that each green bin is geo-tagged to an address and must stay at that address. This will also help retrieve bins that go missing. We believe that the 45-litre green bin for placing out at the curb should meet most household needs, but if additional bins are needed, they will be available for purchase at cost beginning in January 2026.

Under provincial legislation, larger communities are now required to implement a green bin program. This has been a long-requested service across Oxford County that will help reduce the amount of garbage being put out at the curb, extending the life of the landfill (and the amount of bag tags needed by a household in a year).

In Oxford County, green bin waste will be sent to the Generate Upcycle facility near Drumbo for pre-processing, where contaminated material (plastics, metals, etc.) are removed. 

Organic waste is then shipped to a facility in London where renewable natural gas (methane) is recovered and injected directly into the natural gas distribution network. The residual material that remains is then used as fertilizer for the agricultural industry.

Six-day collection cycles have been shown to reduce the cost and environmental impact of curbside collection. In Oxford County: 

• South-West Oxford has already been following a six-day collection cycle.
• Woodstock is moving to a six-day cycle in January 2026 when green bin organic collection begins. Regular garbage and green bin waste will be picked up at the same time.
• All other Oxford Municipalities (Blandford-Blenheim, East Zorra-Tavistock, Ingersoll, Norwich, Tillsonburg and Zorra) will move to a six-day collection cycle in May 2027 when organic collection starts in their community. 

Beginning in January 2026 in all Oxford County municipalities, blue box recycling collection will move to a new province-wide recycling program operated by Circular Materials. 

For more information for your municipality, including potential changes to what goes in the blue box, watch for future updates at www.circularmaterials.ca/oxfordcounty.

Recycling and organic collection for BCI (Business, Commercial and Institutional)

Small businesses, not-for-profit organizations, municipal buildings or facilities (libraries, arenas), childcare centres, places of worship, campgrounds and trailer parks are not included in the new, province-wide blue box recycling program that takes effect January 2026. To fill this gap, Oxford County will begin offering recycling collection service to this sector in addition to green bin organic collection. However, to join this program you must register.

Register now

Organic collection for multi-residential properties

Oxford County will be offering organic waste collection to multi-residential properties beginning in 2026. Examples of multi-residential properties or facilities include apartment buildings, seniors’ residences, or other buildings that contain six (6) or more residential units.

This service will roll out in two phases.

• Phase 1 will begin the week of January 5, 2026, for registered multi-residential facilities and businesses located in the City of Woodstock and the Township of South-West Oxford.
  
  
• Phase 2 will extend the green bin program to registered multi-residential facilities and businesses located in Blandford-Blenheim, East Zorra-Tavistock, Ingersoll, Norwich, Tillsonburg and Zorra starting May 3, 2027.

To be considered, the property owner must register.

Register now

Businesses will have two options for recycling containers. 

• They may purchase a 360-litre recycling cart or an 83-litre blue box from the County at cost. For more information, visit https://www.oxfordcounty.ca/services-for-you/garbage-recycling/containers-for-sale/. 
• Businesses may also use their existing cart or bin if they are the same size and approved for use by the County. In this this case, you will be provided with stickers indicating the bin is acceptable for pick-up. Stickers should be applied to the sides and top, but not the front of the bin, as the sticker may be damaged or removed through the collection process.