Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ filtered results:
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Program: Hazardous and Special ProductsTopic: Producer , Registration
Producers of all materials must provide the following information when registering:
- Name, contact information and Stewardship Ontario number (if applicable)
- Identify any PROs who they have retained (if applicable at time of registration)
- Name, contact information of the person who will be responsible for having the registration complete and up to date
Producers of oil filters, antifreeze, oil containers, pressurized containers, pesticides, solvents, paints and coatings must also provide:
- The total weight of each type of HSP that was supplied to consumers in Ontario in 2018, 2019 and 2020
- See the Hazardous and Special Products Verification and Audit Procedure for more information
Producers of fertilizers and refillable propane containers must provide:
- The date they first supplied the products to consumers in Ontario
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Program: Batteries , Blue Box , Hazardous and Special Products , ITT/AV , Lighting , TiresTopic: General , PRO , Registration
RPRA does not vet PROs before listing them on the website. Any business that registers as a PRO will be listed. Producers should do their own due diligence when determining which PRO to work with.
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Program: Blue Box , Hazardous and Special ProductsTopic: Management activities , Producer , Reporting
No, products or packaging designated as Hazardous and Special Products (HSP) are not obligated under the Blue Box Regulation. For example, primary packaging for paints and coatings are HSP and therefore not obligated as Blue Box materials.
Some packaging for HSP products may still be obligated. For example, the packaging that contains an oil filter is obligated as Blue Box materials.
Consult the HSP Regulation or the Compliance and Registry Team for further information.
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Program: Batteries , Blue Box , Hazardous and Special Products , ITT/AV , LightingTopic: Producer , Registration , ReportingAs 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 , TiresTopic: Environmental Fees , Producer , Retailer
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 , TiresTopic: Environmental Fees , Producer , Retailer
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 , TiresTopic: Environmental Fees , Producer , Retailer
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 , TiresTopic: Environmental Fees , Producer , Retailer
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 , TiresTopic: Environmental Fees , Producer , Retailer
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 , TiresTopic: About the Authority
In accordance with the legislation (Resource Recovery Circular Economy Act 2016, section 57), the Authority is required to comply with strict confidentiality requirements. The Authority has also developed an Access and Privacy Code that applies to its day-to-day operations.
The Registry has been developed according to cybersecurity best practice principles. This includes VPN-based restrictions, staff training on all cybersecurity policies, staff access to the Registry on a strict role-requirement basis, and registry interface security features (example: two-factor authentication).