Statement from the Registrar: Resolution of Battery Producers’ Non-Compliance with the 2023 and 2024 Minimum Management Requirements

RPRA has resolved the Administrative Penalty (AP) Orders issued to three battery producers – Duracell Canada Inc., Energizer Canada and Panasonic Canada – for failing to meet their 2023 minimum management requirements for single-use batteries.

The agreement also addresses the producers’ failure to meet their 2024 minimum management requirements for single-use batteries.

The AP Orders were issued on April 28, 2025, and are posted to RPRA’s website:

• Duracell Canada Inc. – $1M
• Energizer Canada – $1M
• Panasonic Canada – $782K

All three battery producers appealed their AP Orders to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT), which adjudicates orders issued by RPRA. As part of the appeal process, the three battery producers, their producer responsibility organization, Call2Recycle, and RPRA mediated the appeals and subsequently resolved them on the following terms:

• Call2Recycle, on behalf of the three producers, will pay to RPRA $1.49M in administrative penalties, on the following basis:
  • Duracell Canada Inc. – $644,201
  • Energizer Canada – $631,485
  • Panasonic Canada – $214,699
• Call2Recycle, on behalf of the three producers, will invest $2.8M over the next three years to improve their battery collection and recycling program and increase the number of public and private battery collection sites in Ontario by 10%, including:
  • Increasing the number of public collection sites by 180 sites over 3 years
  • Increasing the number of private collection sites by 75 sites over 3 years
  • Increasing the number of curbside pickup events by 12, with a minimum of 40,000 households served each year
  • Agreeing to accept any collection site, private or public, that requests to be part of Call2Recycle’s collection network and that meets its enrollment criteria
  • Agreeing to provide curbside pickup to any qualifying community that asks
• Call2Recycle will report to RPRA on their adherence to the terms of the resolution every six months over the three-year period.
• RPRA may report on Call2Recycle’s adherence to the terms of the agreement and any outcomes achieved at any time.
• Under the terms of the settlement, Call2Recycle has pledged $1M in security for fulfilling its commitments to this resolution, which RPRA may claim in part or in whole if the terms of this agreement are breached.
• RPRA will not take further enforcement action for failure to meet 2023 and 2024 minimum management requirements, provided no new material information that could not reasonably have been discovered prior to execution of the settlement agreement comes to RPRA’s attention.

The agreement approved by the OLT holds Duracell Canada Inc., Energizer Canada, and Panasonic Canada, accountable for failing to recycle the minimum amount of single-use batteries required under the Batteries Regulation for the 2023 and 2024 performance years.

This resolution, initiated by Call2Recycle, on behalf of Duracell, Energizer and Panasonic, will make a significant contribution to increasing battery collection and improving environmental outcomes. This plan contributes to advancing Ontario’s circular economy and furthers RPRA and Call2Recycle’s shared goal of protecting Ontario’s environment on behalf of the residents of Ontario.

Potential collection sites or communities that want Call2Recycle to provide free collection services can contact them at [email protected] or 1-888-224-9764.