Frequently Asked Questions

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• Program: Blue Box

  Topic: Producer , Reporting

  Toggle the submenu My institution has a reuse store and/or hosts upcycling events in which some Blue Box materials (e.g., donated paper products like notebooks, loose paper, and file folders) are sold or given away for free. As a Blue Box producer, what materials from this service should be included in our supply report?

  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.

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• Program: Blue Box

  Topic: Producer , Reporting

  Toggle the submenu My institution provides self-serve hot drink machines where students and employees can serve themselves. As a Blue Box producer, what materials from this service should be included in our supply report?

  Any public sector institution, including colleges and universities, that offers a self-serve hot drink machine for use by students and employees (i.e., consumers) must report all the Blue Box materials supplied with the machine to serve the hot drinks. This includes branded and unbranded single-use cups, lids, etc.

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• Program: Blue Box

  Topic: Producer , Reporting

  Toggle the submenu If I already reported my Blue Box supply data to Stewardship Ontario through the WeRecycle Portal, do I have to report again to RPRA?

  Yes, producers are legally required to register and report to RPRA. There are some differences between which materials were reported to Stewardship Ontario as a steward and what must now be reported to RPRA as a producer. Differences include:

  • newly obligated materials
  • brand holder in Canada now obligated (rather than Ontario)
  • producer must report total supply, and then report any weight to be deducted separately.

  During transition years, stewards must meet their requirements (e.g., paying fees to Stewardship Ontario) under the Blue Box Program Plan and the WDTA. Producers also have requirements under the new Blue Box Regulation and the RRCEA, which includes registering, reporting, paying their program fee to RPRA and establishing collection, management and promotion and education systems for Blue Box materials.

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• Program: Blue Box

  Topic: Producer

  Toggle the submenu Who is the obligated producer for blue box packaging on unbranded products?

  Unbranded products are products that do not have any mark, word, name, symbol, design, device or graphical element, or any combination of these, including a registered or unregistered trademark, which identifies a product and distinguishes it from other products.

  The retailer who supplied the product to a consumer in Ontario, either online or at a physical location, is the obligated producer for the supply of Blue Box packaging on that unbranded product.

  For example: A cucumber in plastic film sold at a grocery store that does not have any stickers, labeling or any other information associated with a brand is considered unbranded. As the retailer for that unbranded product, the grocery store is the obligated producer for the packaging supplied with the cucumber.

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• Program: Blue Box

  Topic: Producer

  Toggle the submenu Who is a newspaper producer?

  A newspaper producer is a person who supplies newspapers to consumers in Ontario. For the purpose of the Blue Box Regulation, newspapers include broadsheet, tabloid or free newspaper. For further information, see the FAQ: What is a newspaper?

  Note that a producer of supplemental advertisements or flyers that are supplied with a newspaper would not be considered a newspaper producer as they do not supply the actual broadsheet, tabloid, or free newspaper. This producer cannot use the newspaper exemption percentage to be exempt from Blue Box collection and management requirements. See the FAQ: Are there exemptions for Blue Box producers?

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• Program: Hazardous Waste

  Topic: General , Registry

  Toggle the submenu What is an ECA or jurisdictional permit number and what if it is not recognized in the HWP Registry?

  An Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) is a permission issued in Ontario by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks that imposes activity-specific rules to ensure businesses operate their facility, site or system in a manner that is protective of human health and the natural environment.  Activities that may require an ECA include hazardous waste transportation, landfilling, waste transfer or processing, private or municipal wastewater treatment, and general manufacturing.

  ECA numbers are used on manifests to identify carrier and receivers in Ontario and to validate that all parties are approved to manage the selected waste stream.  If you are a carrier or a receiving facility, all ECA numbers must be linked to your Hazardous Waste Program (HWP) Registry account.

  If your facility is located outside of Ontario, you may have been issued a similar permit or receiver number by your local jurisdiction with respect to your involvement in the handling of hazardous waste. You must link this permit number to your RPRA registry account to complete the receiver information on a manifest.

  If the permit number is not accepted in the HWP Registry, please contact the ministry at hazardouswasteprogram@ontario.ca and provide the following information in your request:

  • Contact information: phone number, phone extension (if applicable), and email.
  • Other jurisdiction approval number (if applicable)
  • Role (carrier or receiver)
  • Company name
  • Mailing address: address, city, postal code/zip code, province/state, and country
  • Receiving site information: address, city, postal code/zip code, province/state, and country
  • Waste information:
    • List all Ontario waste classes this site will manage, including the three-digit number and waste product name. For more information, please see Appendix A of the updated Registration Guidance Manual for Generators of Liquid Industrial and Hazardous Waste.

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• Program: Tires

  Topic: Regulation

  Toggle the submenu What does ‘reuse’ mean under the Tires Regulation?

  Reuse under the Tires Regulation means either of the following:

  1. Tires that are sold and reused for their original purpose with or without modification. Modification includes repair but does not include retreading. For example, a repaired tire must be sold as a complete tire. A repair to a tire that remains on a vehicle, such as fixing a flat tire, does not count as reuse.
  2. Tires that are reused without modification for a new purpose. For example, a tire being reused as a bumper, or other similar apparatus for absorbing shock. Tires that are reused without modification for a new purpose does not include tires that are deposited on land.

  The entire weight of the reused tire can be counted towards a producer’s management target.

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• Program: Blue Box

  Topic: First Nation communities

  Toggle the submenu How can my community change its transition date?

  There is no requirement for a First Nation community to formally change its transition date. If a community is not ready to report and/or participate in the offer process with the PROs by the initial transition date or the date outlined in the Transition Schedule, the community can indicate that to RPRA and we will work with you and the PROs to track when your community is ready to move forward in the process.

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• Program: Batteries , Blue Box , Hazardous and Special Products , ITT/AV , Lighting , Tires

  Topic: Producer , Registration , Registry , Reporting , RPRA Program and Registry Fees

  Toggle the submenu Can a producer choose to work with an external consultant?

  Producers are obligated parties under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act and are ultimately responsible for their data submitted through RPRA’s Registry. Producers can choose to contract with an external consultant to support their data submission, but third parties have limited permissions in the Registry as they are not regulated parties.

  A producer can choose to assign a primary or secondary user profile in their Registry account to an external consultant. An external consultant may submit supply data reports and/or pay registry fees on the producer’s behalf.

  External consultants cannot submit and/or sign registration, executive attestations, account admin changes or supply data adjustment documentation on behalf of a producer. External consultants cannot be account admins, nor can they manage a PRO within the Registry on behalf of a producer.

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• Program: Hazardous Waste

  Topic: AGD , Generator , Registry , RPRA Program and Registry Fees

  Toggle the submenu Can I submit a partial payment for only the facilities I manage?

  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?

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