Statement from the Registrar: Notices of Intention to issue Administrative Penalty Orders to Blue Box, HSP and tire producers 

RPRA has issued Notices of Intention (NOIs) to issue Administrative Penalty (AP) Orders against multiple Blue Box, hazardous and special products (HSP), and tire producers for contraventions related to failing to submit annual supply reports.  

Specific contraventions under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 (RRCEA) include:  

• Section 50(1) of the Blue Box Regulation: Failure to submit 2022 supply report  
• Section 50(2) of the Blue Box Regulation: Failure to submit 2023 supply report 
• Section 51(1) of the Blue Box Regulation: Failure to submit annual supply report(s) 
• Section 46 of the HSP Regulation: Failure to submit annual supply report(s) 
• Section 18(2) of the Tires Regulation: Failure to submit annual supply report(s)  

The proposed penalties range from $75,000 to $375,000 each, for a combined total of $1.2 million. Producers who receive NOIs have the opportunity to respond before penalties can be issued. 

Issuing NOIs for failing to submit annual supply reports is an important part of RPRA’s enforcement of Ontario’s producer responsibility laws. Submitting supply reports is a key obligation for registrants and a cornerstone of Ontario’s regulatory framework for recycling. Supply reports are the basis for RPRA to determine how much material each producer is required to recycle or reuse and, in many instances, help to ensure producers are paying their fair share in material management costs to producer responsibility organizations.  

To strengthen enforcement of reporting deadlines, RPRA may issue NOIs without first issuing compliance orders. RPRA tailors its compliance and enforcement actions to the specific registrant, the circumstances of the noncompliance and the broader regulatory context, to deploy the most effective tool to achieve compliance.  

Producers can avoid enforcement action by meeting reporting deadlines. Producers who receive NOIs can avoid AP Orders by immediately complying with the regulatory requirements.    

Producers that were issued an NOI have 21 days to submit information in writing to the Deputy Registrar about actions they have taken to remedy the contravention (e.g., that they have submitted their outstanding supply report(s)) or request that the Deputy Registrar consider additional information. If the contravention is not remedied or if a request to consider additional information is unsuccessful, then the AP Order may be issued.  

Details of NOIs are not publicly available as they are issued directly to registrants. RPRA will publicly post AP Orders that have been issued to its website, as required under the RRCEA. More information about administrative penalties can be found in RPRA’s  Administrative Penalties Guidelines and Use of Administrative Penalty Revenues Policy.