Battery Producer

Starting July 1, 2020, producers are required to establish and operate a collection system for their single-use (primary) or rechargeable batteries. The Authority will be issuing a compliance bulletin that will provide guidance on collection systems. The bulletin will be posted here when available.

Collection Sites

Producers must ensure that consumers can drop off batteries free of charge at each site that is part of their collection system and satisfy the following requirements:

• If the battery collection site is not part of a retail location, it must accept all batteries.
• If the site is part of a retail location, it must accept (at a minimum) all batteries that are of a similar size, function and category of batteries sold at the location.
• The site must be readily accessible to the public and operate during normal business hours.
• The site must accept, at a minimum, up to 15kg of batteries per day from any person.
• If the site is not part of a retail location and accepts more than 15 kg of batteries from a person on a single day, the site operator must record the person’s name, contact information and the weight of batteries accepted.

Producers can reduce their accessibility requirements by providing options such as curbside collection, mailback programs, or collection events.

Management Requirements

Producers must ensure that every battery picked up from a collection site, regardless of whether it is part of the producer’s collection system, is managed (reused, refurbished or processed) within three months of the pickup date.

From July 1, 2020 to December 31, 2022, every producer shall make best efforts to meet their management requirements, as calculated in the Batteries Regulation. This means that producers must make best efforts to reuse, refurbish, or recycle 40% of the batteries they supply in Ontario.

To meet their management requirements, Producers can only use a battery processor that is registered with the Authority (unless they are exempt) and meets the recycling efficiency rate (RER) requirements set out in the Registry Procedure – Verification and Audit.

The Regulation defines recovered resources as:

• materials used or destined to be used by a person for the making of new products or packaging
• materials used to enrich soil
• materials used as aggregate (up to a 15% max)

The following do not count as recovered resources:

• materials that are land disposed
• materials that are incinerated or used as fuel or a fuel supplement
• materials that are stored, stockpiled, used as a daily landfill cover or otherwise deposited on land

It is important to note that management requirements will be confirmed during producer registration in November 2020. This means that producers will have to engage in five months of collection and resource recovery activities starting in July 2020, prior to confirming their requirements at registration. It will be important for battery producers to ensure that, at a minimum, they have interim contractual arrangements in place with service providers to cover this five-month period prior to registration in November 2020.

Working with PROs

Producers have the choice of establishing and operating their own collection and management systems or working with one or more producer responsibility organizations (PROs) registered with the Authority to meet their obligations.

A PRO is a business established to contract with producers to provide collection and management and administrative services to help producers meet their regulatory obligations under the Batteries Regulation, including:

• Arranging the establishment or operation of battery collection and management systems (hauling, recycling, reuse or refurbishment services).
• Establishing or operating a collection or management system
• Preparing and submitting reports

PROs operate in a competitive market and producers can choose the PRO (or PROs) they want to work with. The terms and conditions of each contract with a PRO may vary. PROs will be listed here as they register.

From July 2020 to December 2022, producers will be required to (at a minimum):

• Make reasonable efforts to raise public awareness of battery recovery and reasonable efforts to encourage public participation.
• Publish information on their website about collection locations, collection services, and recovery activities.

A producer who marketed single-use or rechargeable batteries in Ontario between January 1, 2018 and November 30, 2020 must register with the Authority by November 30, 2020. Otherwise, a producer must register with the Authority within 30 days of marketing batteries in Ontario.

The Authority will notify potential producers when registration opens and continue to update the website.

At that time, producers must submit the following information:

• Name and contact information
• Type of batteries marketed in Ontario
• The weight of single-use batteries supplied in 2018 and 2019. The supply data must be submitted in accordance with the Registry Procedure – Verification and Audit.
• If applicable, the weight of post-consumer recycled content contained in the single-use batteries supplied in Ontario in 2018 and 2019.
• The weight of rechargeable batteries supplied in 2018. The supply data must be submitted in accordance with the Registry Procedure – Verification and Audit.
• If applicable, the weight of post-consumer recycled content contained in the rechargeable batteries supplied in Ontario in 2018.

Further information about the registration process will be posted here as it becomes available.

On or before April 30, 2021, the producer, or PRO acting on their behalf, must submit the following information about their collection network:

• The location of every collection site in their system.
• A description of their collection services.
• Every hauler, processor or refurbisher that is part of their collection system.

Annual Supply Data Reporting

On or before April 30, 2021, and each subsequent year thereafter, producers must submit the following information about the batteries they supplied in Ontario:

• The weight of single-use batteries supplied in 2020. The supply data must be submitted in accordance with the Registry Procedure – Verification and Audit.
• If applicable, weight of single-use batteries and the weight (if any), of post-consumer recycled content contained in the batteries supplied in Ontario for 2020.
• The weight of rechargeable batteries supplied in 2019. The supply data must be submitted in accordance with the Registry Procedure – Verification and Audit.
• If applicable, weight of rechargeable batteries and the weight (if any), of post-consumer recycled content contained in the batteries supplied in Ontario for 2019.

Verification of supply data and post-consumer recycled content is required starting with the April 30, 2022 report and is required every year thereafter.

Annual Performance Reporting

Beginning in 2022 (on or before April 30), producers or PROs on their behalf must report on their performance for the previous performance period (July 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021 is the first performance period), including the weight of batteries recycled, reused and refurbished. There is no audit required for the first performance period (July 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021).

Beginning in 2024, producers (or PROs on their behalf), will be required to submit an audit verifying their performance reporting. The first audit of performance is due April 30, 2024 (based on the 2022 and 2023 performance periods).

Performance is audited every three years for the previous three performance periods, meaning the second audit will be due on April 30, 2027 (for the performance years 2024, 2025 and 2026)

The audit must be conducted in accordance with the Registry Procedure – Verification and Audit.