Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ filtered results:
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: Collection systems , General , PRO , Processor , Producer
The following are the types of Blue Box Materials obligated under the Blue Box Regulation:
- Blue box packaging (primary, transport, convenience, service accessories, ancillary elements)
- Paper products
- Packaging-like products
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: Producer
Under the Blue Box Regulation, there are three types of exemptions that apply to producers:
- Based on a producer’s gross annual revenue,
- based on the weight of Blue Box materials supplied into Ontario, and
- for producers of newspaper
1. 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. In the case where the producer is a franchisor, it is the gross annual revenue of the system that is used to determine if an exemption applies.
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 that can be examined or accessed in Ontario for a period of five years from the date of creation.
See our FAQs to understand what revenues municipalities and registered charities should consider when determining whether or not they are an exempt producer.
2. A producer who is above the revenue-based exemption level may still be exempt from performance requirements (collection, management and promotion and education) if their supply weight is below the exemption levels outlined in the table below.
If a producer’s annual revenue is more than $2,000,000 and supply weight in all material categories is less than the tonnage exemption threshold, the producer is required to register and report.
If a producer’s annual revenue is more than $2,000,000 and supply weight in at least one material category is above the tonnage exemption threshold, the producer is 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.
3. As outlined in the amended Blue Box Regulation (released April 19, 2022), producers of newspapers may be exempt from collection, management, and promotion and education requirements. For the purposes of this exemption, “newspapers” includes newspapers and any protective wrapping and any supplemental advertisements and inserts that are provided along with the newspapers.
For a producer to qualify for this exemption, newspapers must account for more than 70% of their total weight of Blue Box materials supplied to consumers in Ontario in a calendar year. If exempt, the producer is not required to meet collection, management, and promotion and education requirements for all Blue Box materials they supply in Ontario in the following two calendar years.
A producer whose newspaper supply accounts for 70% or less of their total weight of Blue Box materials is subject to collection, management, and promotion and education requirements for all Blue Box materials they supply in Ontario.
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: 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.
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: Municipalities , 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
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: Producer
A marketplace facilitator is a person who contracts with a marketplace seller to facilitate the supply of the marketplace seller’s products by:
- Owning or operating an online consumer-facing marketplace or forum in which the marketplace seller’s products are listed or advertised for supply and where offer and acceptance are communicated between a marketplace seller and a buyer (e.g., a website), and
- Providing for the physical distribution of a marketplace seller’s products to the consumer (e.g., storage, preparation, shipping of products).
Under the Blue Box Regulation, if a retailer (online or at a physical location) is determined to be the producer based on hierarchies, but they are a marketplace seller, the marketplace facilitator is the obligated producer. A marketplace seller is a person who contracts with a marketplace facilitator to supply its products.
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: General , Producer
Under the Blue Box Regulation, consumers are individuals who use a product and its packaging for personal, family or household purposes, or persons who use a beverage and its container for personal, family, household, or business purposes.
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: First Nation communities , Registration
First Nation communities interested in receiving producer-run Blue Box services must register with the Authority. To register, communities must submit contact information of the person responsible for waste management in the community using the First Nation community registration form. Once completed, the registration form should be submitted by email to registry@rpra.ca.
Visit our First Nation webpage for more information.
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: First Nation communities , Municipalities , Reporting
Yes, all eligible communities must submit these reports to the Authority. The Datacall is the source of data for determining the net Blue Box system cost and for allocating funding under the Blue Box Program Plan. The Initial and Transition reports are for a separate and distinct program than Datacall and are required under the new Blue Box Regulation, which requires eligible communities to submit these reports.
While some of the required information in these reports was reported to Datacall, much of the information was not. Where there is overlap between what was reported to Datacall and the information that is required in these reports, please see the guidance below on where to find this information in your Datacall report.
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: First Nation communities , General , Municipalities , Reporting
There are three reports for eligible communities under the Blue Box Regulation: an Initial Report, a Transition Report and Change Reports.
- The Initial Report will be submitted by all communities in 2021. It will provide an overview of the communities and of the WDTA Blue Box program that operates in that community.
- The Transition Report will be submitted by communities 2 years prior to their transition year. It provides more detailed information about the WDTA Blue Box program that operates in the community.
- Change Reports will be used by communities when there are changes to the information that they submitted in either the Initial Report or Transition Report. At this time, the requirements and formats for change reports have not yet been established. RPRA will provide guidance in the future.
These reports need to be completed by all eligible communities under the Blue Box Regulation.
An eligible community is a local municipality or local services board area that is not located in the Far North, or a reserve that is registered by a First Nation with the Authority and not located in the Far North.
- The Far North has the same meaning as in the Far North Act, 2010. To determine whether a community is in the Far North, use this link.
- A local municipality means a single-tier municipality or a lower-tier municipality. A local services board has the same meaning as “Board” in the Northern Services Boards Act.
- A First Nation means a council of the Band as referred to in subsection 2(1) of the Indian Act (Canada).
If you are an upper-tier municipality or waste association, these reports must be submitted separately for each eligible community in your program.
Visit the Municipal and First Nation webpages for more information.
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Program: Blue BoxTopic: First Nation communities , General , Municipalities , Reporting
Sections 54 and 55 of the Blue Box Regulation require municipalities and First Nations to submit the information in the Initial Report and Transition Report to the Authority.
Under the Blue Box Regulation, producers will be fully responsible for the collection and management of Blue Box materials that are supplied into Ontario. To ensure that all communities continue to receive Blue Box collection services, communities will be allocated to producers, or PROs on their behalf, who are obligated to provide collection services. The information that is submitted in the Initial and Transition Reports will be used by PROs to plan for collection in each eligible community.
The Authority will also use the information provided by municipalities and First Nations to ensure that producers are complying with their collection obligations under the Blue Box Regulation.
It is important that municipalities and First Nations complete these reports accurately so that all eligible sources (residences, facilities, and public spaces) in their communities continue to receive Blue Box collection after their community transitions to full producer responsibility.