Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ filtered results:

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

  Topic: About the Authority , General , Producer

  Toggle the submenu What is RPRA’s approach to free riders?

  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?”

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

  Topic: General , PRO , Producer , Registration

  Toggle the submenu What is a free rider?

  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.

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

  Topic: General , Producer

  Toggle the submenu Who is a consumer under the Batteries, Electrical and Electronic Equipment, Hazardous and Special Products, and Tires Regulations?

  Under the Batteries, EEE, HSP, and Tire Regulations, a consumer is any end user of a product. A consumer includes an individual who obtains the product for the individual’s own use and a business that obtains the product for the business’s own use.

  See our FAQ to understand “Who is a consumer under the Blue Box Regulation?”

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

  Topic: Management activities , Producer , Registry , Reporting

  Toggle the submenu What do I do if I misreported my supply data?

  If a producer misreports their supply data to RPRA, they must contact the Compliance and Registry Team immediately by emailing registry@rpra.ca. Please include the following information in the email:

  • The rationale for the change in the data
  • Any data that supports the need for a correction (e.g., sales documents, audit)
  • Any other information to support the change

  While it is an offence to submit false or misleading information under the RRCEA, RPRA wants this corrected as quickly to ensure a producer’s minimum management requirement is calculated using accurate supply data.

  RPRA can only receive these requests from the primary contact on the company’s Registry account. Your request for an adjustment will be reviewed by a Compliance and Registry Officer.

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

  Topic: PRO , Producer , Reporting

  Toggle the submenu Can a PRO report on behalf of a producer?

  A producer can grant access to anyone they would like to authorize in their reporting (i.e. Registry) portal. Producer reporting must be done in the producer account and batch data transfers are not accepted.

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• Program: Batteries , Blue Box , ITT/AV , Lighting

  Topic: Management activities , Producer

  Toggle the submenu How will the Authority determine a producer is using ‘best efforts’?

  In determining whether an obligated producer used best efforts to meet their management requirements, the Compliance Team will consider whether the producer, acting in good faith, took all reasonable steps to meet the requirements outlined in the applicable regulation.

  For example, best efforts in the context of management requirements may involve a producer regularly monitoring the volume of material being collected and managed, and implementing plans for increasing those volumes if the requirements are unlikely to be met.

  Producers can contact the Compliance Team to ask specific questions about fulfilling their obligations.

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

  Topic: Producer , Registration

  Toggle the submenu How do I manage contacts on my Registry account?

  Account Admins must add any new, or manage existing, Primary Contacts under the program they wish to give them access to in order for the Primary Contact to be able to submit a report (e.g., permissions to view and complete reports).

  To Manage contacts on your Registry account, please see the following steps:

  1. Log into your account
  2. Once you are logged in, click on the drop-down arrow in the top right corner and select Manage Users
  3. Under Actions, click Manage to update preferences of existing users
  4. Click Add New User to add an additional contact to your account
  5. To give reporting access to a Primary Contact, select the program from the drop-down that you would like to grant them access to

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

  Topic: Producer , Registration , Reporting

  Toggle the submenu Why is a registration and/or reporting deadline communicated by the Authority different than what is written in the regulation?

  As the Regulator responsible for enforcing regulations under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016, the Registrar uses their discretion for when it is necessary to give registrants more time to collect the information needed for registration and/or reporting.

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

  Topic: Environmental Fees , Producer , Retailer

  Toggle the submenu Can I dispute an environmental fee that seems too high?

  If you are concerned about the fee you were charged, you should contact the business that charged you the fee to request a more detailed explanation of how the fee was determined.

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

  Topic: Environmental Fees , Producer , Retailer

  Toggle the submenu Is the environmental fee on my receipt a tax?

  No. An environmental fee is not a government tax and cannot be represented as mandatory, a regulatory charge, or a RPRA fee. It is a fee charged at the discretion of a business to recover their costs related to recycling the product.

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