Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ filtered results:

Program: Blue Box

Topic: Producer , Reporting

Any donated or re-supplied paper products or other Blue Box materials that are supplied to consumers through a reuse store or upcycling event should not be included in your supply report.
Program: Blue Box

Topic: Producer , Registration , Reporting
See our FAQs to understand “What are paper products?” and “What are packaging-like products?”.

For paper products and packaging-like products, a person is considered a producer:

if they are the brand holder of the paper product or packaging-like product and are resident in Canada

if no resident brand holder, they are resident in Ontario and import the paper product or packaging-like product

if no resident importer, they are the retailer that supplied the paper product or packaging-like product directly to consumers in Ontario

if the retailer who would be the producer is a marketplace seller, the marketplace facilitator is the obligated producer

if the producer is a business that is a franchise, the franchisor is the obligated producer, if that franchisor has franchisees that are resident in Ontario
Program: Blue Box

Topic: Collection systems , General , PRO , Processor , Producer

Under the Blue Box Regulation, paper products include printed and unprinted paper, such as a newspaper, magazine, greeting cards, calendars (promotional or purchased), notebooks and daily planners, promotional material, directory, catalogue or paper used for copying, writing or any other general use.

Hard or soft cover books and hardcover periodicals are not considered paper products.
Program: Batteries , Blue Box , ITT/AV , Lighting , Tires

Topic: General , Management activities , Producer

Producers are not required to collect and manage their own branded products and materials. Instead, a producer is expected to collect and manage a portion of similar materials in Ontario. The portion of material that a producer collects and manages is known as their minimum management requirement. A minimum management requirement, which is set based on calculations outlined in the applicable Regulation, is the weight of the products or packaging that the producer must ensure is collected and managed. The calculated amount is proportionate to the weight of materials that producer supplied into the province.

For example, a producer who supplied laptops into Ontario does not need to collect and manage their own branded laptops. Instead, they must ensure that they collect and manage an equivalent weight of information technology, telecommunications, and audio-visual equipment (ITT/AV) materials.

Similarly, a producer who supplied cardboard boxes into Ontario does not need to collect and manage those exact cardboard boxes. Rather, they need to ensure that an equivalent weight of paper is collected and managed.

Almost all producers will work with producer responsibility organizations (PROs) for the purposes of meeting their obligations to collect and manage materials. PROs establish collection and management systems across Ontario for different material types. A producer can meet their obligations to collect and manage materials by entering into a contract with a PRO to provide these services on their behalf.
Program: Blue Box

Topic: PRO , Producer , Reporting
In the Blue Box Regulation, certified compostable products and packaging is defined as material that:

is only capable of being processed by composting, anaerobic digestion or other processes that result in decomposition by bacteria or other living organisms, and

is certified compostable by an international, national, or industry standard that is listed in this procedure.

All certified compostable products and packaging reported by producers must be certified under one of the following standards:

CAN/BNQ 0017-088: Specifications for Compostable Plastics

ISO 17088: Specifications for compostable plastics

ASTM D6400: Standard Specification for Labeling of Plastics Designed to be Aerobically Composted in Municipal or Industrial Facilities

ASTM D6868: Standard Specification for Labeling of End Items that Incorporate Plastics and Polymers as Coatings or Additives with Paper and Other Substrates Designed to be Aerobically Composted in Municipal or Industrial Facilities

EN 13432: Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation – Test scheme and evaluation criteria for the final acceptance of packaging
Program: Blue Box

Topic: Collection systems , General , PRO , Processor , Producer
Under the Blue Box Regulation, a packaging-like product is:

ordinarily used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery, presentation or transportation of things

ordinarily disposed of after a single use

not used as packaging when it is supplied to the consumer

Packaging-like products include aluminum foil, a metal tray, plastic film, plastic wrap, wrapping paper, a paper bag, beverage cup, plastic bag, cardboard box or envelope, but does not include a product made from flexible plastic that is ordinarily used for the containment, protection, or handling of food, such as cling wrap, sandwich bags, or freezer bags.

If a producer is unsure whether or not their product is a packaging-like product, they can ask themselves the following questions to help determine whether the product is obligated to be reported under the Blue Box Regulation:

Is the product actually packaging around a separate product?

If yes, the product is not a packaging-like product. Instead, the product is considered blue box packaging and must be reported as blue box material. If no, continue to the next question.

Is the product used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery, presentation or transportation of a thing(s)?

If no, the product is not a packaging-like product. If yes, continue to the next question.

Is the product typically disposed of after a single use (regardless if some may wash and reuse it)?

If no, the product is not a packaging-like product. If yes, continue to the next question.

Is the product made from flexible plastic that is for the containment, protection or handling of food?

If yes, the product is not a packaging-like product. If no, the product is a packaging-like product and must be reported as blue box material.

If a producer is still unsure whether or not their product is a packaging-like product, they should contact the Compliance and Registry Team at 833-600-0530 or registry@rpra.ca.
Program: Blue Box

Topic: Management activities , PRO , Producer

A producer’s management requirement is how much Blue Box material they must ensure is collected and processed into recovered resources each year. Management requirements are calculated based on what they supplied into Ontario two years prior and the resource recovery percentage as set in the regulation. A producer’s management requirement is calculated separately for each Blue Box material category (beverage container, glass, flexible plastic, rigid plastic, metal and paper).

Some producer are exempt from having a management requirement based on their supply data, for more information on exemptions see the FAQ Are there exemptions for Blue Box producers? A producer that does not have a management requirement does not have any collection, management or promotion and education obligations.

A producer with a management requirement must also provide collection and promotion and education services in Ontario. Most producers will contract the services of a producer responsibility organization (PRO) to meet their collection, management and promotion and education obligations.

To view your management requirement(s), log into your registry account, download a copy of your Blue Box Supply Report and review the section with your minimum management requirements. Management requirement for a given year are determine by supply data from two years prior. For example, 2023 management requirements were based on 2021 supply data (submitted in producers’ 2022 Supply Report).

Unsure if you are a Blue Box producer? See our FAQs Am I a producer of Blue Box product packaging? And Am I a producer of paper products and packaging-like products?
Program: Blue Box

Topic: Collection systems , General , PRO , Processor , Producer
The following are the types of Blue Box Materials obligated under the Blue Box Regulation:

Blue box packaging (primary, transport, convenience, service accessories, ancillary elements)

Paper products

Packaging-like products
Program: Blue Box

Topic: Producer , Reporting
For the purposes of the Blue Box Regulation, a beverage container is a container that:

Contains a ready-to-drink beverage product,

“Ready-to-drink” means a beverage packaged by the manufacturer for immediate consumption that does not require any preparation. A ready-to-drink beverage is intended to be consumed as purchased and does not require a dispensing device to be consumed.

“Beverage” means a consumable liquid for enjoyment or hydration. It does not include an “alcoholic beverage”, or “non-alcoholic beer, wine or spirits” as defined in O. Reg. 391/21.

Is made from metal, glass, paper or rigid plastic, or any combination of these materials, and

If a beverage container is made only of flexible plastic, it would be obligated as a Blue Box material but would be reported under the material category “Flexible Plastic” rather than the “Beverage Container” material category. The Blue Box Regulation defines flexible plastic as unmoulded plastic. For more information on reporting of packaging and beverage containers that consist of multiple materials, please see the “Component Threshold Rule” in the Blue Box Verification and Audit Procedure Registry Procedure.

Is sealed by its manufacturer.

A cup provided to a consumer in a restaurant filled with fountain pop is not sealed by the manufacturer and is therefore not considered a beverage container. However, the cup (including the lid and straw) would still be obligated as a Blue Box material in the paper and/or plastic material categories.

For greater clarity, the Registrar does not consider the packaging from the following product types to be a beverage container:

Infant formula

Meal replacements, nutritional supplements or dietary supplements

Regulated health products

Concentrated beverages intended to be mixed or diluted before consumption, such as frozen juices, cocktail mixers, extracts and flavour enhancers

Liquids that are not intended to be consumed as purchased such as soup, syrups, cream and other beverage additives, whipping cream, buttermilk, broth

Beverage containers made of flexible plastics such as milk bags (these are still to be reported as flexible plastics)

Milk products and substitutes (e.g., soy beverage, almond beverage, a rigid plastic container of milk, drinkable yogurt) are beverage containers provided they are packaged in a container as defined above.
Program: Blue Box

Topic: Producer , Reporting

Starting in 2022, producers are required to report their supply data annually to RPRA.

Each year, producers will need to provide the previous years’ supply data in each of the seven material categories – beverage container, glass material, flexible plastic, rigid plastic, metal material, paper material, and certified compostable products and packaging material – as well as any deductions.

See our FAQ to understand “What deductions are available to producers under the Blue Box Regulation?”