Frequently Asked Questions

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• Program: Blue Box

  Topic: Collection systems , General , PRO , Processor , Producer

  Toggle the submenu What are paper products?

  Under the Blue Box Regulation, paper products include printed and unprinted paper, such as a newspaper, magazine, greeting cards, calendars (promotional or purchased), notebooks and daily planners, promotional material, directory, catalogue or paper used for copying, writing or any other general use.

  Hard or soft cover books and hardcover periodicals are not considered paper products.

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• Program: Blue Box

  Topic: Collection systems , General , PRO , Processor , Producer

  Toggle the submenu What are packaging-like products?

  Under the Blue Box Regulation, a packaging-like product is:

  • ordinarily used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery, presentation or transportation of things
  • ordinarily disposed of after a single use
  • not used as packaging when it is supplied to the consumer

  Packaging-like products include aluminum foil, a metal tray, plastic film, plastic wrap, wrapping paper, a paper bag, beverage cup, plastic bag, cardboard box or envelope, but does not include a product made from flexible plastic that is ordinarily used for the containment, protection, or handling of food, such as cling wrap, sandwich bags, or freezer bags.

  If a producer is unsure whether or not their product is a packaging-like product, they can ask themselves the following questions to help determine whether the product is obligated to be reported under the Blue Box Regulation:

  1. Is the product actually packaging around a separate product?
     • If yes, the product is not a packaging-like product. Instead, the product is considered blue box packaging and must be reported as blue box material.  If no, continue to the next question.
  2. Is the product used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery, presentation or transportation of a thing(s)?
     • If no, the product is not a packaging-like product. If yes, continue to the next question.
  3. Is the product typically disposed of after a single use (regardless if some may wash and reuse it)?
     • If no, the product is not a packaging-like product. If yes, continue to the next question.
  4. Is the product made from flexible plastic that is for the containment, protection or handling of food?
     • If yes, the product is not a packaging-like product. If no, the product is a packaging-like product and must be reported as blue box material.

  If a producer is still unsure whether or not their product is a packaging-like product, they should contact the Compliance and Registry Team at 833-600-0530 or registry@rpra.ca.

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

  Topic: Environmental Fees , Producer , Retailer

  Toggle the submenu How much can be charged as an environmental fee?

  There is no set environmental fee for any product, the amount of the fee charged is decided by the business.

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

  Topic: Environmental Fees , Producer , Retailer

  Toggle the submenu What are the rules around charging an environmental fee?

  Consumer protection laws in Ontario prohibits the misrepresentation of charges, which means that producers or retailers cannot misrepresent any visible fees as a regulatory charge, tax, RPRA fee or something similar. Consumers who have questions or concerns about a specific transaction or want to report a misrepresentation can contact the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery at 1-800-889-9768.

  As of March 2023, the promotion and education requirements related to environmental fees have been removed from the Tires, Batteries, Electrical and Electronic Equipment, and Hazardous and Special Products regulations. No changes were made to the Blue Box Regulation as it never contained promotion and education requirements related to these fees.

  RPRA’s compliance bulletin Charging Tire Fees to Consumers has since been revoked and RPRA has ceased its enforcement of promotion and education requirements for visible fees across all materials.

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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 businesses charge consumers an environmental fee?

  Businesses have the choice to recover the cost of recycling their products by incorporating those costs into the overall cost of their product (as they do with other costs, such as materials, labour, other regulatory compliance costs, etc.) or by charging it as a separate fee to consumers.

  Environmental fees are not mandatory and are applied at the discretion of the business charging them, including the amount of the fee.

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

  Topic: Collector , Hauler , Processor , Producer , Reporting , Retreader

  Toggle the submenu Why is there an executive attestation requirement?

  Brand holders and producers that supply products and packaging are required by legislation to meet individual mandatory collection and resource recovery requirements and may face compliance and enforcement consequences for failing to do so. The executive attestation ensures that executives responsible for managing the brand holder’s or producer’s business are aware of these requirements and can ensure that appropriate measures are put in place to achieve compliance with the regulations.

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

  Topic: Collector , Hauler , Processor , Producer , Registration

  Toggle the submenu Why do I need to provide a legal business name and a business operating name?

  For regulatory purposes, we need to know your legal name — the name you are incorporated under.  We also need to know your business operating name if it is different from your legal business name to add to our published list of registrants. The list of registrants will be available on our website to allow registrants to interact with one another and to provide information to the public.

  For example, if you are a registered collector and your legal name is 123456789 Ontario Ltd. and your business operating name is “Jack’s Garage,” a member of the public looking for a place to drop off used tires will need to know the name you are operating under to identify your location.

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

  Topic: Producer , Registration

  Toggle the submenu What information do I need to create a Registry account?

  To create a Registry account with the Authority, you will need to provide:

  • CRA Business Number (BN)
  • Legal Business Name
  • Business address and phone number
  • Address of where you work (if different from the main office)
  • Contact information for your billing contact (this may also be added later)

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