Frequently Asked Questions

No, producers are not required to sign up with a PRO to meet their regulatory requirements. It is a business decision if a producer chooses to work with a PRO, and a producer can choose to meet their obligations without a PRO.

Most producers will choose to contract with a PRO to provide collection, hauling, processing, retreading and/or refurbishing services to achieve their collection and management requirements unless they carry out these activities themselves.

Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) means that producers are responsible and accountable for collecting and managing their products and packaging after consumers have finished using them.

For programs under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 (RRCEA), producers are directly responsible and accountable for meeting mandatory collection and recycling requirements for end of life products. With IPR, producers have choice in how they meet their requirements. They can collect and recycle the products themselves, or contract with producer responsibility organizations (PROs) to help them meet their requirements.

RPRA does not vet PROs before listing them on the website. Any business that registers as a PRO will be listed. Producers should do their own due diligence when determining which PRO to work with.

A collection site is required to:

• accept all used materials that are designated under the program the collection site operates under*,
• accept materials dropped off free of charge, and
• accept materials dropped off during regular business hours.

The amount and type of materials a collection site must accept varies by which program they operate under.

*More information on what materials must be accepted for each recycling program can be found here.

Note: In October 2026, the Where to Recycle map moved from rpra.ca to OntarioRecycles.ca, RPRA’s website to keep the public informed about the circular economy and recycling in Ontario.

Yes, any tire type collected and managed within a collection system can be used to meet a producer’s management requirement.

Producers who supplied large tires have to ensure that large tires recovered equals at least 60 per cent of their average weight of supply.

If you collect used tires at your site as a result of onsite servicing of your vehicles, you are not a tire collector for the purposes of the Tires Regulation. These collection sites are considered private collection sites and may be used to achieve management requirements but cannot be used to meet the requirements of a public collection system (e.g., site is not open to the public for tire drop-offs).

Operators of tire collection sites will have to independently enter into commercial agreements with producers or producer responsibility organizations (PROs) to secure tire collection services. As long as a collection site is part of a producer’s tire collection system, the producer, or their PRO, is obligated to ensure tires are picked up from that site.

Since producers have legal obligations under the Tires Regulation, producers, or their PROs, will need tires to meet their management requirements. While tire collectors (i.e., operator of collection sits) are no longer required to register with RPRA, the collection site must be part of a producer’s collection system for the tires to count toward a producer’s management requirements

A list of registered PROs and producers is available on RPRA’s website on the Find a registrant page.

No. RPRA does not administer contracts or provide incentives. Under the Regulations, producers will either work with a producer responsibility organization (PRO) or work directly with collection sites, haulers, refurbisher’s and/or processors to meet their collection and management requirements. Any reimbursement for services provided towards meeting a producers’ collection and management requirements will be determined through commercial contracts.

To discuss any payment, contact your service provider or a PRO. RPRA does not set the terms of the contractual arrangements between PROs and producers.

Brand holders and producers that supply products and packaging are required by legislation to meet individual mandatory collection and resource recovery requirements and may face compliance and enforcement consequences for failing to do so. The executive attestation ensures that executives responsible for managing the brand holder’s or producer’s business are aware of these requirements and can ensure that appropriate measures are put in place to achieve compliance with the regulations.

Free riders are obligated parties that:

• Have not registered or reported to RPRA
• Have not established a collection and management system (if they are so required to), or;
• Are not operating a collection and management system (if they are so required to).

See our FAQs to understand “What is RPRA’s approach to free riders?”, and “What do I do if I think a business is a free rider?”

To note:

• Some producers only have requirements to register and report. Please refer to your specific program page on our website to understand producer obligations.
• Collection and management systems may be accomplished by a producer responsibility organization (PRO) on behalf of a producer through contractual arrangements between the producer and PRO. If a PRO is managing a producer’s collection and management requirements, producers must identify that PRO to RPRA.

RPRA has developed a library of resources to support Registry users navigate the online system and meet their regulatory requirements. RPRA consistently adds to this pool of resources based on upcoming requirements, emerging needs, and questions we receive from stakeholders.

View Registry resources for each program:

• Batteries
• Blue Box
• Hazardous and Special Products
• ITT/AV
• Lighting
• Tires
• Excess Soil Registry
• Hazardous Waste Program Registry

No. Producers and PROs working on their behalf must operate the collection and management systems they have established as required by the Regulation even after their minimum management requirements are met.

A producer responsibility organization (PRO) is not necessarily required to include each and every collection site in Ontario in their collection system. However, producers and PROs acting on their behalf are required to establish and operate a collection system that meets the requirements of the Tires Regulation.

If a collection site operator is unable to be included in a collection system, the operator should contact RPRA’s Compliance Team at [email protected], 647-496-0530 or toll free at 1-833-600-0530 for assistance.

Read Compliance Bulletin – Tire Collection Systems for more information. The contact information for all registered PROs is available on the producer responsibility organization webpage.

You will have to meet the registration requirements for every category that applies to you.

No. While RPRA is responsible for the oversight, compliance and enforcement of the regulatory requirements for tires under Ontario’s individual producer responsibility framework, RPRA’s activities do not replicate those of OTS.

RPRA recognizes the commercially sensitive nature of the information that parties submit to the registry. RPRA is committed to protecting the commercially sensitive information and personal information it receives or creates in the course of conducting its regulatory functions. In recognition of this commitment, RPRA, in addition to the regulatory requirements of confidentiality set out in the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act 2016 (section 57), has created an Access and Privacy Code that applies to its day-to-day operations, including the regulatory functions that it carries out.

Obligated material supply, collection, and resource recovery data will only be made public in aggregate form, to protect the confidentiality of commercially sensitive information.

RPRA will publish the names and contact information of all registered businesses – producers, service providers (collectors, haulers, processors, etc.), and producer responsibility organizations. The public will also have access to a list or method to locate any obligated material collection sites, as this information becomes available.

As part of its regulatory mandate, the Registrar will provide information to the public related to compliance and enforcement activities that have been undertaken.

The information that is submitted to the Registry will be used by the Registrar to confirm compliance and to track overall collection and management system performance. It will also be used by RPRA to update its policies and procedures and by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks for policy development.

In accordance with the legislation (Resource Recovery Circular Economy Act 2016, section 57), RPRA is required to comply with strict confidentiality requirements. RPRA has also developed an Access and Privacy Code that applies to its day-to-day operations.

The Registry has been developed according to cybersecurity best practice principles. This includes VPN-based restrictions, staff training on all cybersecurity policies, staff access to the Registry on a strict role-requirement basis, and registry interface security features (example: two-factor authentication).

A volunteer organization is a person who:

• Is a brand holder who owns a brand that is used in respect of batteries, ITT/AV, or lighting;
• Is not a resident in Canada;
• Has registered with RPRA; and
• Has entered into a written agreement with a producer for the purpose of carrying out one or more producer responsibilities.

A volunteer organization is not a producer but can take on the registration and reporting responsibilities for producers in relation to its brand. Under the Regulation, producers remain responsible for meeting their management requirements and cannot pass off their obligations through voluntary remitter agreements or any other commercial agreement.

Any brand holder or producer who is interested in making any agreement as indicated (or described) above, should contact the Compliance Team at [email protected], 647-496-0530 or toll-free at 1-833-600-0530.

RPRA takes a risk-based and proportional approach to compliance. This approach focuses on the potential risks that arise from non-compliance and assessing those risks to guide the use of compliance tools and the deployment of resources to minimize risk and maximize compliance. Learn more about RPRA’s Risk-Based Compliance Framework.

As a provincial regulator, we have the following powers to bring non-compliant parties into compliance:

• Broad inquiry powers including authority to compel documents and data
• Inspections and investigations
• Audits
• Compliance Orders and Administrative Penalty Orders (amounts to be set in regulation once finalized)
• Prosecution

RPRA’s primary approach to compliance is through communications (C4C – Communicating for Compliance). RPRA communicates directly with obligated parties and informs them of their requirements and when and how they must be completed. A high degree of compliance is achieved with this approach.

RPRA considers free riders a high priority to the programs we administer and focuses compliance efforts on bringing free riders into compliance with the regulations.

See our FAQ to understand “What is a free rider?”, and “What do I do if I think a business is a free rider?”

A brand supply list is a list of brands of obligated products that a producer supplies to consumers in Ontario. A producer must provide a brand supply list that makes up their supply data annually to RPRA. Each program has different requirements regarding how a producer must submit a brand supply list. For more information, consult the applicable programs’ walkthrough guide or contact RPRA’s Compliance and Registry Team at 1-833-600-0530 or by emailing [email protected].

Failure of an obligated party to meet a registration or reporting deadline may result in compliance action, including compliance orders, prosecutions or monetary penalties issued in accordance with the Administrative Penalties Guidelines.

In accordance with the Risk Based Compliance Framework, RPRA will communicate to obligated parties, via email, about their reporting requirements in advance of submission deadlines. RPRA will also send deadline reminders and notify missed deadlines to obligated parties prior to taking further compliance action.

For more guidance, read the new Late Registration or Report Submissions Compliance Bulletin.

Yes, a producer, a PRO (producer responsibility organization) on behalf of a producer, or a service provider on behalf of either party, can collect any product or material (including materials or products that are not designated under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 (RRCEA)). For example, a battery producer may choose to collect batteries that weigh over 5kg; a tire producer may choose to collect bicycle tires; or a Blue Box producer may choose to collect books.

Products or materials that are not designated under RRCEA regulations cannot be counted towards meeting a producer’s collection or management requirements under RRCEA.

If designated materials are co-collected with materials that are not designated, a person must use a methodology or process acceptable to the Authority to account for those materials. Anyone considering this can contact the Compliance Team to discuss at [email protected] or 833-600-0530.

For example, if bicycle tires are collected at the same time as automotive tires, they must be accounted for separately both when collected and when sent to a processor.

No, where a producer is exempt, the regulatory obligations do not become the responsibility of the organization that is next in the producer hierarchy. The exempt producer remains the “producer” for those materials; they are just exempt from certain requirements under the regulation as set out in the relevant provisions providing for the exemption. This is the case in all RRCEA regulations.

No. Recycling drop-off locations displayed on the map cannot:​

• charge the public a fee to drop off materials that the location accepts.​
• refuse the drop-off of materials displayed on the map. However, recycling locations can request reasonable requirements when consumers drop off an item to ensure health and safety. For example, sites may require that used oil filters are dropped off in sealed containers, light tubes are taped together, etc.

If you are charged a fee or refused drop off, you can report an issue about that specific location to RPRA (see our other FAQ for further instructions).

Note: In October 2026, the Where to Recycle map moved from rpra.ca to OntarioRecycles.ca, RPRA’s website to keep the public informed about the circular economy and recycling in Ontario.