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Burlington, Ontario holds a unique place in Canadian history as a true pioneer of municipal recycling. In 1970, a local grassroots group called the Citizens Committee for Pollution Control (CCPC) started a small volunteer recycling experiment in Aldershot, setting the stage for what later became Ontario's province-wide blue box system.
-First Experiment: Local resident Roberta McGregor (then Golightly) and a small women's group researched recycling with over 250 families in Aldershot.
-Canada's First Centre: The initiative expanded into 21 city-wide volunteer depots, leading to the opening of Canada's first sustained multi-material recycling center on Brant Street in February 1971.
-Volunteer Power: Over 1,000 local participants ran the depots, collecting glass, tin, aluminum, cardboard, and newspapers, with markets primarily found in Hamilton.
-Curbside Pilot: In 1981, the CCPC successfully lobbied the provincial government to hire a contractor (Halton's Recycled Resources) for curbside pickup in Burlington. Soon after, Kitchener introduced a Blue Box program.
-Disbandment: With the city taking over formal municipal waste diversion, the CCPC fulfilled its goals and disbanded by 1983.
Recycling Revisited was the group established to scan the documents in order to preserve the history of CCPC.
Collection belongs to the Burlington Historical Society.
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