Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ filtered results:
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: PRO , Producer , Registry , Reporting
No, beverage containers are not eligible for this deduction.
The allowable deduction is permitted for Blue Box materials that are deposited into a “non-eligible source,” meaning a place where consumers dispose of Blue Box materials that are not included in the producer-run collection system.
Under the Blue Box Regulation, beverage containers that are supplied to Ontario consumers for personal, family, household or business purposes are obligated Blue Box materials. The inclusion of “business purposes” is unique to the beverage container material category.
Because supplying a beverage container can mean either supplying for “personal, family and/or household purposes” that will likely be consumed and disposed of in a residential context (e.g., a home, apartment, long-term care facility, etc.) or supplying for “business purposes” that will likely be consumed and disposed of in a commercial or institutional context (e.g., a restaurant, college or gym), there are no “non-eligible sources” for beverage containers. All beverage containers must be reported and collected from all sources, whether they are residential, business, commercial or institutional.
See our FAQ to understand “What deductions are available to producers under the Blue Box Regulation?”
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: Collection systems , PRO , Producer
Where an entire community is receiving recycling curbside collection and has access to recycling depots, the requirement is that during transition, that same level of service is still provided. After transition, there is no requirement to maintain depots within these communities.
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: Producer
RPRA will accept a report that substantiates the total Blue Box material weight deductions based on the customer’s recorded response to “Will you eat in or take out?” for all locations. Reports must be retained either in electronic or paper format for five years and be provided upon request for verification by RPRA.
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: Collection systems , Management activities , Municipalities , Producer
Producers are obligated to provide collection services to new facilities that come into existence during the transition period only if that facility would have qualified for collection services under the WDTA Blue Box Program.
For further certainty, the WDTA Blue Box Program includes collection services for multi-family households (including rental, cooperative or condominium residential), senior citizen residences, long-term care facilities and public and private elementary and secondary schools.
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: Collection systems , Management activities , PRO , Producer
With the removal of the rule creation process and allocation table as the tools to create and maintain the Blue Box collection system, the amended regulation now requires producer responsibility organizations (PROs) to submit a report that outlines how they will operate the Blue Box collection system on behalf of producers, ensuring that materials are collected from all eligible communities (i.e., communities outside of the Far North) across the province.
Circular Materials Ontario and Ryse Solutions Ontario PROs submitted a Blue Box PRO initial report to RPRA on July 1, 2022, that provides the following information:
- A description of how they will comply with the collection requirements of the regulation, including any agreements between themselves and any other PRO
- A detailed description of how they will make collected Blue Box materials available for processing, how materials will be processed, and the expected location of receiving facilities in Ontario
- A description of how they will comply with the promotion and education requirements of the regulation
You can read the news release and the initial report here.
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: Collection systems , Municipalities , PRO , Producer
A “Public space” means an outdoor area in a park, playground or beside/on a sidewalk, a public transit station or stop under municipal or provincial jurisdiction, including a track-level stop, to which the public is normally provided access.
During transition, producers are required to collect Blue Box material from public space receptacles in eligible communities that were provided collection service under the WDTA program.
The definition of a “public space” in the Blue Box Regulation is broader than the definition used in the Datacall for WDTA municipal funding purposes. For the purpose of collection services during transition, producers must collect from eligible communities’ public space receptacles collected as part of a communities’ Blue Box servicing that was funded under the WDTA Blue Box program (i.e., those along residential routes).
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Program: Batteries , Blue Box , Hazardous and Special Products , ITT/AV , Lighting , TiresTopic: PRO , Producer , Reporting
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 , LightingTopic: Management activities , Producer
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: Blue BoxTopic: Collection systems , Management activities , PRO , Producer , Registration
Yes, a producer can change PROs at any time. Producers must notify RPRA of any change in PROs within 30 days of the change.
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: Collection systems , General , Management activities , Producer , Reporting
Yes, there are some key changes to the data reported to Stewardship Ontario and what needs to be reported under the new regulation, which may affect what a producer is obligated for and should be considered if using data previously reported to Stewardship Ontario:
- There are fewer reporting categories than under the Stewardship Ontario program
- Certified compostable packaging and products now must be reported separately, but this category does not have management requirements
- There are only two deductions permitted under the Blue Box Regulation, and producers must report total supply and then report any weight to be deducted separately
- Exemptions are based on tonnage supply under each material category instead of a total supply weight threshold of less than 15 tonnes as in Stewardship Ontario’s program
See our FAQ to understand “What deductions are available to producers under the Blue Box Regulation?”; “Are there exemptions for Blue Box producers?“; “Are there any differences in Blue Box producer hierarchies between the current Stewardship Ontario program and the new Blue Box Regulation?”; and “Are there are any differences in obligated Blue Box materials between the current Stewardship Ontario program and the new Blue Box Regulation?”