Frequently Asked Questions

In the HWP Registry, one company account will be set up to manage all of that company’s facilities.  The company account will have one account administrator and as many additional users as you choose. Each user will have their own username and password.  

Once you create an account for your company, any user associated with the account can setup and manage all facilities under that one account. More information on account types and how to setup an account, will be made available by RPRA closer to November. 

Note: As a generator, if you fully delegate to a service provider (also referred to as an authorized generator delegate or AGD), you will not have to use the HWP Registry. The AGD will set up the facilities that you have fully delegated to them under their AGD account.  

If you partially delegate to a service provider, you will need to set up your registry account yourself, including initial set up of your facilities and associated waste stream information migrated from HWIN. Once you have set up a facility and identified a service provider as a partial AGD through the registry system, the service provider can register and edit your waste stream information on your behalf. 

Each Registry account has one account admin, who is responsible for enrolling the company in programs (e.g., HWP, batteries, etc.) and adding/removing additional account users. 

There is one primary user for each program enrolment. In HWP, the primary user can add/remove users to the HWP program, add program roles (such as generator, carrier or receiver) and receive email notifications (such as when a new invoice is available).  

Secondary users can create and edit generator facilities and waste information (generator/AGD roles only), add ECA information and edit contact information (carrier/receiver roles only), and create, edit and sign manifests.

Driver users are specific to the carrier role in HWP. Drivers can create, edit and sign manifests but cannot add ECA information.

Manifest-only users, like driver users, have a reduced level of access limited to viewing, creating, editing and signing manifests. They cannot view, edit, or manage facilities, or view information related to fees.

There is one accounts payable (AP) user per account. An AP user can access and pay invoices, manage saved payment methods and receive email notifications about billing and payments. The AP user can also be contacted by RPRA in the event of a billing or payment question.  If the AP user has a primary access level in the HWP registry, they also can reset passwords for active users and add or remove users within the same program. If an AP user has a secondary access level in the HWP, they can create and manage facilities and waste, as well as view, create, or edit manifests. 

Account admins can manage password resets for all active users in the account. Primary users are also able to manage password resets, but only for active users within the programs they are the primary user for. If secondary users, drivers or manifest-only users require a password reset, they can reach out to the account admin or primary user to do so.  

User Management

Question C in Section 5 GAP asks for tonnes distributed for reuse through facilities operated directly by municipality. Full credit is given for reported tonnes in this question.

Additionally, the Datacall asks for tonnes distributed for reuse through facilities to which municipality provides no-charge disposal of residual waste. 10% of any tonnage reported in this field will be counted toward diversion.

No. If a facility is closed and/or will not be generating hazardous or liquid industrial waste in 2023 and beyond, you do not need to register the facilities in the HWP Registry.

Also, data from inactive facilities in HWIN will not be migrated to the HWP Registry.

See FAQ: Will HWIN users’ data be migrated to the HWP Registry?

No. All secondary users of the account will be able to access all facilities in the account. Once you create an account for your company, any user associated with the account can setup and manage all facilities under that one account. 

The HWP Registry is equipped with a robust search and filter functionality to make it easier for users within the account to locate and manage the facilities they are responsible for

Producers are now required to service eligible facilities that were not serviced by the legacy Blue Box program beginning in 2031.

The registration portal is closed until RPRA receives direction from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks on the transitioning of these facilities.

In the interim, facilities that want to receive Blue Box collection must continue with private collection (or initiate collection with a private service provider, if they have not been serviced before).

If you have further questions, please contact the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

The requirement for Blue Box producers to provide collection service to eligible facilities – multi-residential buildings, schools, and specified long-term care homes and retirement homes – in eligible communities that did not receive service under the legacy Blue Box program has been delayed to 2031.

Facilities in communities that did not receive Blue Box collection under the legacy program that want to receive collection between 2026 and 2030 must continue with private collection, or initiate collection with a private service provider if they have not been serviced before.

RPRA will open its facilities registry well in advance of the 2031 start date to allow eligible facility owners and operators to register. Stakeholders can subscribe to RPRA’s mailing list to receive updates.

The HWP Registry is unable to accept partial payments for invoices issued to an account. Monthly invoices will include the applicable fees for all manifests completed during the previous month and will break fees down by facility. Consider an internal business process to bill back each facility as required.

See FAQ: Can we set up separate invoices for each facility within one account? 
See FAQ: What information is included on an invoice for HWP Registry fees?

Blue Box materials supplied to the IC&I sector are not obligated, therefore, deductions are available for materials supplied to a consumer in an IC&I setting.

Blue Box producers may deduct materials that are collected from a business or institution where producers are not required to provide Blue Box collection services. Examples include:

• Offices
• Stores and shopping malls
• Restaurants
• Hotels
• Hospitals
• Community centres
• Places of worship
• Recreation facilities
• Sports and entertainment venues
• Universities and colleges
• Manufacturing facilities
• Golf courses
• Cemeteries
• Amusement parks

Producers are responsible for material collected from eligible sources in the producer run Common Collection System, Alternative or Supplemental Collections Systems. Material from these categories is not allowed to be deducted:

• Material that is collected from a residence through a curbside or depot collection service.
• Material that is generated at a facility (including multi-residential buildings, retirement homes, long-term care homes and schools).
• Material that is collected from a public space (including an outdoor area in a park, playground or sidewalk, or a public transit station).
• Material collected under an alternative or supplemental collection system.

Please see the Reporting Guidance Ineligible Source Deductions for the 2026 Blue Box Supply Report for more information on how to determine and use these deductions.

Also see our FAQs: ‘What deductions are available to producers under the Blue Box Regulation?’, ‘Who is a consumer under the Blue Box Regulation’

There are two allowable deductions for Blue Box materials:

The “installation deduction” for materials collected from an eligible source at the time a related product was installed or delivered (e.g., packaging that is removed from the house by a technician installing a new appliance).

The “ineligible source deduction” for materials deposited into a receptacle at a location that is collected from a business or institution where Blue Box collection services are not provided under the regulation. This was expanded by the regulatory amendment in July 2023.

Blue Box producers may deduct materials that are collected from a business or institution where producers are not required to provide Blue Box collection services. Examples include offices, stores and shopping malls, restaurants, community centres, recreation facilities, sports and entertainment venues, universities and colleges, and manufacturing facilities.

Producers cannot deduct the following materials collected through the collection systems established under the Blue Box Regulation:

• Material that is collected from a residence through a curbside or depot collection service.
• Material that is collected from a public space (including an outdoor area in a park, playground or sidewalk, or a public transit station).
• Material collected under an alternative or supplemental collection system.

Materials that are deducted cannot count toward a producer’s management requirement.

Please see the Reporting Guidance Ineligible Source Deductions for the 2026 Blue Box Supply Report for more information on how to determine and use these deductions.

Collection

• Public or municipal contract-based collection of or from:
  • Permanent or seasonal single and multi-family households (including rental, cooperative or condominium residential)
    • Multi-family households are defined as residential units in buildings with six or more units (per O.Reg 103/94)
  • Senior citizen residences and long-term care facilities
  • Public and secondary schools collected along a residential collection route, concurrently with residential tonnes
• The residential component of publicly-operated (municipally-owned or contracted) drop-off depots, at dedicated depots, or depots at landfill sites
• Public space recycling containers, if they are collected on a residential collection route concurrently with residential tonnes (tonnes from special events/festivals are not eligible)
• Municipally owned and operated campgrounds can be reported as residential only if there are permanent households or seasonal households, i.e. a trailer park (weekend campgrounds are
  considered IC&I)

Processing

• Public or municipal contract-based collected materials from permanent or seasonal single and multi-family households (including rental, cooperative or condominium residential)
• Collected materials from senior citizen residences and long-term care facilities where the materials are processed at a municipally-owned or contracted MRF
• Public or municipal contract-based collected materials from public and secondary schools, collected during residential collection
• Collected materials from public and secondary schools where the materials are processed at a municipally-owned MRF
• Residential components of publicly-operated (municipally-owned or contracted) drop-off depots, located either at dedicated depots or landfill sites
• Public space recycling containers that are comingled with residential Blue Box materials (e.g.
  bins in public parks) collected along a residential route

To learn more, read pages 9 and 10 of the Datacall User Guide.

Full delegation: when generators hire service providers to do all the facility and waste stream management, reporting and fee payment in the registry on their behalf, and they never have to set up accounts or use the registry.  

Partial delegation: when generators want to set up their own account in the registry and pay their own fees, they can still delegate facility and waste stream management and other reporting activities to a service provider.  

Please note delegation is not needed for a service provider to create manifests for your facility. Delegation is needed only for a service provider to help manage a generator’s facility and waste stream information (e.g., register or edit waste streams) or sign off on manifests on the generator’s behalf. 

Comparison of delegation options

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

Only hazardous waste from facilities and waste streams that are set up in the new registry can be shipped, stored, processed, or disposed as of January 1, 2023. Generators, carriers, and receivers must have an account in the new registry to be listed on a manifest, create, edit or sign manifests, or report on-site waste activities, among other activities.

Creating an account is easy and straightforward. To make it easier, have the generator numbers, HWIN usernames and Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) numbers for your business readily available.  

The HWP Registry and the mobile app were built and tested by RPRA staff, ministry staff, industry stakeholders and external technology vendors to be efficient and user-friendly. To set up an account, follow the steps below:

• Go to registry.rpra.ca
• Click the Create New Account link if you do not already have a registry account
• Enter your business contact information
• Enroll in the Hazardous Waste Program Registry as a generator, carrier, receiver or Authorized Generator Delegate (AGD). An email will then be sent with instructions to activate your account

Check out these step-by-step instructions for account creation and retrieving HWIN data.

Carriers and receivers can link existing environmental compliance approval (ECA) numbers to their account. Check out this “how-to” video to link your ECA numbers.

If you have been authorized to act as a full delegate, you should have the generator numbers and HWIN usernames for each of your clients. If acting as a partial delegate, please reach out to new clients to ensure they have their accounts and facilities set up.

The Hazardous Waste Program (HWP) Registry is unable to issue separate invoices for different facilities managed under one account. However, users can export to excel fee-related details for manifests that have been invoiced and sort it by facility. 

Monthly invoices will include the applicable fees for manifests completed during the previous month and will break fees down by facility. If you need more details about facility-specific activities, you can find that information directly in the Registry. 

See FAQ: What information is included on an invoice for HWP Registry fees? 
See FAQ: Can I submit a partial payment for only the facilities I manage?
See FAQ: Where can I find past invoices in the Registry?

Public sector institutions must report all branded and unbranded Blue Box packaging supplied or sold with food served in their owned and operated on-site facilities. These facilities include but are not limited to cafeterias, pubs, cafes, and in the case of a college or university, faculty offices.

It is important to consider other situations where food service Blue Box packaging is supplied to consumers. For example, a college must report the packaging used in their Culinary and Hospitality programs that allow students to take home food prepared in class.

Under the Blue Box Regulation which came into effect on July 1, 2023, eligible locations for collection in a First Nation community include:

• Private residences
• Public and private schools
• Elders’ lodges (or retirement homes)
• Not-for-profit long-term care facilities

Locations that are not eligible for Blue Box collection or funding under this program include:

• Commercial properties
• Band owned and operated facilities such as daycares or community, wellness, cultural and language centres.
  • Note: Although costs of collection from these properties are not covered under the Blue Box system, First Nations can apply for Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) funding to support these costs. Please speak to your region’s ISC officer for more information on how to apply.

Under the Blue Box Regulation, a building is a “facility” if it is one of the following:

• A multi-residential building with six (6) or more dwelling units
• A public or private school
• An Elders’ lodge
• A not-for-profit retirement home
• A not-for-profit long-term home

To be considered an “eligible facility” – a facility that is eligible to receive Blue Box collection services under the Blue Box Regulation – one of the following must apply:

a) The facility is located within a community* that has or will join the common collection system and was previously serviced under the legacy Blue Box program (e.g., received depot or curbside collection from the municipality, local service board or First Nation before it joined the common collection system). This facility is eligible to receive collection service on its host community’s transition date.

or

b) The facility was not previously serviced under the legacy Blue Box program but is planning to register for collection under the new Blue Box system. Facilities in this category will be eligible to receive Blue Box collection services under the producer run program starting January 1, 2031.

*A “community” refers to a municipality, local service board or First Nation

To better understand when your eligible facility is eligible for Blue Box collection, see the chart below:

If you have questions, please contact the Compliance and Registry Team at [email protected] or 1-833-600-0530 (toll-free).

Not-for profit long-term care homes, not-for-profit retirement homes and Elders’ lodges may be eligible to receive Blue Box collection service under the producer-run recycling system.

If these facilities previously received service from their host community under the legacy Blue Box program, they will be automatically included in Blue Box collection from their host community and do not need to take any additional action.

A not-for profit long-term care home, not-for-profit retirement home or Elders’ lodge that was not previously serviced under the legacy Blue Box program may receive collection service beginning in 2031. These facilities will have to register with RPRA. More information will be shared closer to this date.

Also see our FAQ: Is my facility eligible to receive Blue Box collection services?

Fees will be charged to generators only, aligning with the current Hazardous Waste Program fee structure.

If full delegation is selected, the authorized delegate that registers the generator’s facility will pay the fees. 

If a generator has partially delegated to a service provider, the AGD can manage and report activities at the generators’ facilities, but the generator will be responsible for paying the fees. 

See FAQ: Will I pay my fees using a prepaid account like HWIN?  

See FAQ: Is there a fee to set up an account in the HWP Registry? 

Yes. The new Subject Waste Program Regulation under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016, preserves and clarifies existing Hazardous Waste Program fee exemptions, which RPRA must follow when recovering the cost to operate the HWP Registry.  

Existing exemptions include:  

• Municipal hazardous or special waste 
• Contaminated sites 
• Emergencies (spills) 
• Tonnage-fee exempt recycling facilities 

Yes.  The general public can search for generators and view information about their registered facilities and wastes at the following website: https://hazardouswaste-registrations.rpra.ca/s/  

Under the Blue Box Regulation which came into effect on July 1, 2023, eligible locations for collection within the producer-run program include:

• Private residences
• Public and private schools
• Elders’ lodges
• Not-for-profit retirement homes
• Not-for-profit long-term care facilities

Note: Commercial properties are not eligible for collection under the producer-run Blue Box program.

Producers are legally required to offer collection services to eligible facilities starting in 2031. A facility that did not receive Blue Box collection services under the legacy program but would like to receive Blue Box collection services from 2026 to 2030 must contract directly with a private service provider for private collection.

Under the producer-run system, residences are eligible for Blue Box collection. Residences are buildings with five or less residential units. Building developments with five or less units are considered residences and will also receive service from the producer-run system.

Townhouses, stacked townhouses or row houses with six or more units may also be considered residences if one of the following applies:

• each unit receives curbside garbage collection, or
• the building uses a common collection point where residents drop off their waste and from which the local government collects garbage.

Townhouses, stacked townhouses or row houses with six or more units that do not meet the criteria above are not eligible to receive Blue Box collection from the producer-run program until 2031, as these types of buildings are considered facilities. To learn more see our FAQ: “Is my facility eligible to receive Blue Box collection services?”

Eligible facilities that were not serviced under the legacy Blue Box program can begin receiving Blue Box collection services through the producer-run program on the later of the following dates:

• January 1, 2031
• The date the facility officially registers under section 63 of the Blue Box Regulation

For details on specific types of locations, see our FAQ: “What is an eligible facility under the Blue Box Regulation?”