Statement from the Registrar: Second update on the inspection of battery producer compliance under the Batteries Regulation
As a result of a contractual dispute earlier this year between Call2Recycle Canada Inc. (Call2Recycle), a producer responsibility organization (PRO) operating a battery collection and recycling system in Ontario on behalf of its battery producer clients, and Raw Materials Company Inc. (RMC), an Ontario-based battery processor, the number of used battery collection sites in Ontario was significantly reduced.
On April 14 RPRA announced that the Compliance and Enforcement Team would undertake an inspection of battery producers’ compliance with O. Reg. 30/20, the Batteries Regulation issued under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 (RRCEA), including but not limited to the requirements outlined in Part III (Collection of Batteries), s. 8-11 and Part IV (Management of Batteries), s. 14.
This included an inspection of the Used Battery Collection System operated by Call2Recycle on behalf of their producer clients. The results of that inspection, which were announced on September 9, found that Ontario battery producers using Call2Recycle to meet their regulatory requirements to establish and operate a public collection system were out of compliance. A notice of compliance requirement was issued to all battery producers using Call2Recycle as their registered PRO requiring immediate action to comply with the Batteries Regulation.
In addition to the inspection of the Used Battery Collection System, RPRA’s Compliance and Enforcement Team undertook an inspection of RMC, following allegations by Call2Recycle that certain battery processors were operating out of compliance with the Batteries Regulation. Under the RRCEA, RMC is subject to RPRA’s regulatory authority and must comply with various regulatory requirements.
As part of the RPRA inspection, the Compliance and Enforcement Team also reviewed audits and other reviews conducted by third parties relating to RMC’s compliance with the Batteries Regulation.
RPRA’s Compliance and Enforcement Team inspection found no evidence of RMC improperly handling or reporting of batteries collected from outside Ontario for the purposes of meeting resource recovery requirements under the Batteries Regulation. The inspection team also found no evidence of double counting of resource recovery performance under the Batteries Regulation and O. Reg 522/20, the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulation, also issued under the RRCEA. RPRA inspectors observed comprehensive quality assurance controls throughout RMC’s operations.
RPRA continues to review battery producers’ compliance with the Batteries Regulation.
Information on battery producer’s management network
Producers, or PROs on their behalf, can only rely on the following battery processors registered with RPRA to meet their management requirements in 2022:
- Battery Solutions LLC
- Li-Cycle Corp
- Raw Materials Company Inc.
- Retriev Technologies Ltd.
This list is subject to change. The current list can be found here on RPRA’s website.