COMPLIANCE ACTIVITIES
2023 metrics
Potential free riders
Open non-compliance cases
Open inspection cases
Free rider cases resolved
Supply report completion rate
In-year resolution rate for non-compliance cases opened in 2023
About this page
RPRA enforces the requirements of the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 (RRCEA) and its regulations. Obligated parties are required to register with RPRA and report on their supply and management of regulated materials.
RPRA will annually publish information on our compliance activities, open inspections, non-compliance cases, potential free riders, the number of producers and producer responsibility organizations (PROs), report completions, and compliance interactions.
Compliance cases
The table below gives a snapshot of compliance case numbers as of December 31, 2023.
Inspections are opened for any instance of potential non-compliance, such as free-riding, incorrect reporting, incomplete or late reporting, and failure to pay fees.
Inspections are labeled non-compliance cases when, after investigating the potential non-compliance, a contravention of the producer responsibility regulations under the RRCEA is reasonably suspected.
| Program | Open inspections* | Non-compliance opened in 2023 | Non-compliance closed in 2023 | % non-compliance opened and closed in 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batteries | 219 | 73 | 58 | 63% |
| Blue Box | 649 | 182 | 107 | 40% |
| HSP | 143 | 34 | 20 | 29% |
| EEE** | 503 | 27 | 27 | 26% |
| Tires | 265 | 11 | 38 | 64% |
| TOTAL | 1,780 | 327 | 250 | 76% |
| *Inspections of individual regulated entities – could include inspection cases open for each regulated entity involved in a larger system-wide inspection **476 ITT/AV, 27 Lighting |
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Free riders
Potential free rider cases are open inspections that consist of a potential failure to register.
RPRA closed 102 free rider cases 2023. The graph on the right shows the number of free rider cases closed as a result of businesses coming into compliance, and the number of free rider cases closed because RPRA determined the business was not obligated to register and report.
The charts below show the number of potential free riders by program as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022.
Breakdown of free rider cases closed in 2023
Number of potential free riders by program in 2023
Number of potential free riders by program in 2022
Producer and PRO counts
The table below shows the number of producers and producer responsibility organizations (PROs) registered by program, as of December 31, 2023.
Producers can register in more than one program and each program registration is counted as a separate registration. (i.e., a business that registers in both the Blue Box and Hazardous and Special Products programs is represented as an individual producer in each program).
Similarly, PROs can register in more than one program and each program registration is counted as a separate registration.
| Program | Producers 2023 | PROs 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Batteries | 171 | 11 |
| Blue Box | 1,564 | 4 |
| HSP* | 337 | 20 |
| Automotive materials | 195 | 3 |
| Pesticides | 4 | 1 |
| Mercury-containing devices | 5 | 1 |
| Fertilizers | 13 | 2 |
| Paints, Coatings and Solvents | 144 | 3 |
| Pressurized Containers | 31 | 5 |
| Refillable Propane Containers | 16 | |
| ITT/AV | 198 | 14 |
| Lighting | 68 | 4 |
| Tires | 486 | 7 |
| TOTAL REGISTRATIONS | 2,895 | 60 |
| *Total HSP registrations – italicized entries in the rows above break down the total HSP producers and PROs by material category. | ||
The charts below show the number of registered producers in 2023 as well as the total number of registered producers from 2019 to 2023. The number of registrants have increased as new regulatory requirements come into effect and programs open for registration. Program start years are as follows:
Tires: 2019
Batteries: 2020
Blue Box: 2021
ITT/AV: 2021
Hazardous and Special Products: 2021
Lighting: 2022
Number of registered producers by program in 2023
Total number of registered producers from 2021 to 2023
Report completion
The table below shows the number and percentage of registered producers that completed their required 2023 supply reporting by December 31, 2023.
| Program | Producers | 2023 reports | % of producers who completed reports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batteries | 171 | 144 | 84% |
| Blue Box | 1,564 | 1,332 | 85% |
| HSP* | 337 | 182 | 65% |
| Automotive materials | 195 | 112 | 57% |
| Pesticides | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| Mercury-containing devices | 5 | 4 | 80% |
| Fertilizers | 13 | 11 | 85% |
| Paints, coatings and solvents | 144 | 85 | 59% |
| Pressurized containers | 31 | 28 | 90% |
| Refillable propane containers | 16 | 15 | 94% |
| ITT/AV | 198 | 169 | 85% |
| Lighting | 68 | 60 | 88% |
| Tires | 486 | 354 | 73% |
| TOTAL | 2,895 | 2,319 | 80% |
| *Total HSP producers – italicized entries in the rows above break down the total HSP producers/reports by material category. | |||
In-year report completion rates by program in 2023
Overall in-year report completion rates from 2021 to 2023
Compliance interactions
Compliance interactions refer to calls and emails RPRA has with regulated parties regarding program service delivery. These interactions can vary from responding to enquiries to support businesses, investigating cases, and helping obligated businesses register and report.
The table below shows the number of interactions RPRA had with registrants in 2023.
| Type of interaction | Number of interactions in 2023 |
|---|---|
| Emails (Inbound and Outbound) | 69,013 |
| Incoming Calls | 16,504 |
| Outgoing Calls | 5,528 |
| Total Interactions | 91,045 |
Compliance Interactions in 2023
Total Number of Compliance Interactions from 2019 to 2023