Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ filtered results:

Program: Blue Box

Topic: Producer

There is an exemption in the Blue Box regulation for producers whose gross annual revenue generated from products and services in Ontario less than $2 million. The revenue that counts towards the exemption is revenue from products and services. Charitable donations are not revenue from products and services and therefore does not count towards the exemption. Revenue other than charitable donations that are recorded from registered charities will be considered revenue from products and services.
Program: Blue Box

Topic: Municipalities and First Nations , Producer
There is an exemption in the Blue Box Regulation for producers whose gross annual revenue generated from products and services in Ontario is less than $2 million. The following sources are excluded for the purpose of determining revenue:

Government tax revenue

Property taxes

General assistance funding received under the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund

Payments in lieu of taxes

Canadian or Ontarian government grants available to municipalities with the intent of investing in public infrastructure
Program: Blue Box

Topic: Producer , Registration , Registry , Reporting

Newspaper producers must register with RPRA and annually report the amount of Blue Box materials they supply to Ontario consumers. Newspaper producers that are revenue exempt are exempt from all producer requirements under the regulation, including registration and reporting.

If an obligated newspaper producer has not yet registered, they must register through RPRA’s Registry this fall. Information on how to register through the Registry will be provided at a later date. (To note, as of July 15, 2022, manual registration with RPRA is closed. RPRA is currently building an online registry (the Registry) that will launch this fall, and registration via the Registry will resume at that time.)

See our FAQ to understand “What is a newspaper?”
Program: Blue Box

Topic: Producer
Yes. Exemptions are based on a producer’s annual revenue and how much they supply per material category.

Any producer whose gross annual Ontario revenue from products and services is less than $2,000,000 is exempt from all producer requirements under the regulation.

Any producer who meets the exemption must keep any records that demonstrate its gross annual Ontario revenue is less than $2,000,000 in a paper or electronic format and can be examined or accessed in Ontario for a period of five years from the date of creation.

Producers can also be exempt from having minimum management requirements for a material category based on their supply in that category

There are three exemption scenarios for producers:

If the producer’s annual revenue is less than $2 million, they are required to maintain records only

If annual revenue is more than $2 million, and supply weight in all material categories is less than the tonnage exemption threshold, producers are required to register and report

If annual revenue is more than $2 million, and supply weight in at least one material category is above the tonnage exemption threshold, producers are required to meet all obligations (registration, reporting, collection, management, and promotion and education). However, producers are only required to meet their minimum management requirement in material categories where they are above the exemption level.

See our FAQ to understand what revenues municipalities and registered charities should consider when determining whether or not they are an exempt producer.