Posted on August 18, 2021 by Jess Turchet -
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.
Posted on August 18, 2021 by Jess Turchet -
No, transport packaging is only obligated when supplied to a consumer in Ontario. Any transport packaging removed by a retailer or other entity before the product is supplied to a consumer is not obligated under this regulation.
Posted on August 18, 2021 by Jess Turchet -
See our FAQs to understand “What are paper products?” and “What are packaging-like products?”.
For paper products and packaging-like products, a person is considered a producer:
- if they are the brand holder of the paper product or packaging-like product and are resident in Canada
- if no resident brand holder, they are resident in Ontario and import the paper product or packaging-like product
- if no resident importer, they are the retailer that supplied the paper product or packaging-like product directly to consumers in Ontario
- if the retailer who would be the producer is a marketplace seller, the marketplace facilitator is the obligated producer
- if the producer is a business that is a franchise, the franchisor is the obligated producer, if that franchisor has franchisees that are resident in Ontario
Posted on August 18, 2021 by Davina Gounden -
See our FAQ to understand “What is blue box product packaging?”.
Product packaging added to a product can be added at any stage of the production, distribution and supply of the product. A person adds packaging to a product if they:
- make the packaging available for another person to add the packaging to the product
- cause another person to add the packaging to a product
- combine the product and the packaging
For the portion of the product packaging that a brand holder added to the product, a person is considered a producer:
- if they are the brand holder of the product and are resident in Canada
- if no resident brand holder, they are resident in Ontario and import the product
- if no resident importer, they are the retailer that supplied the product directly to consumers in Ontario
- if the retailer who would be the producer is a marketplace seller, the marketplace facilitator is the obligated producer
- if the producer is a business that is a franchise, the franchisor is the obligated producer, if that franchisor has franchisees that are resident in Ontario
For the portion of the product packaging that an importer of the product into Ontario added to the product, a person is considered a producer:
- if they are resident in Ontario and import the product
- if no resident importer, they are the retailer that supplied the product directly to consumers in Ontario
- if the retailer who would be the producer is a marketplace seller, the marketplace facilitator is the obligated producer
- if the producer is a business that is a franchise, the franchisor is the obligated producer, if that franchisor has franchisees that are resident in Ontario
For any portion of the packaging that is not described above, the producer is the retailer who supplied the product to consumers in Ontario.
Posted on July 26, 2021 by Michelle Hoover -
As 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.
Posted on June 3, 2021 by Jess Turchet -
Under the Blue Box Regulation, blue box product packaging includes:
- Primary packaging is for the containment, protection, handling, delivery and presentation of a product at the point of sale, including all packaging components, but does not include convenience packaging or transport packaging (e.g., film and cardboard used to package a 24-pack of water bottles and the label on the water bottle).
- Transportation packaging which is provided in addition to primary packaging to facilitate the handling or transportation of one or more products such as a pallet, bale wrap or box, but does not include a shipping container designed for transporting things by road, ship, rail or air.
- Convenience packaging includes service packaging and is used in addition to primary packaging to facilitate end users’ handling or transportation of one or more products. It also includes packaging that is supplied at the point of sale by food-service or other service providers to facilitate the delivery of goods and includes items such as bags and boxes that are supplied to end users at check out, whether or not there is a separate fee for these items.
- Service accessories are products supplied with a food or beverage product and facilitate the consumption of that food or beverage product and are ordinarily disposed of after a single use, whether or not they could be reused (e.g., a straw, cutlery or plate).
- Ancillary elements are integrated into packaging (directly hung or attached to packaging) and are intended to be consumed or disposed of with the primary packaging. Ancillary elements help the consumer use the product. Examples of ancillary packaging include a mascara brush forming part of a container closure, a toy on the top of candy acting as part of the closure, devices for measuring dosage that form part of a detergent container cap, or the pouring spout on a juice or milk carton.
Posted on June 3, 2021 by Jess Turchet -
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.
Posted on June 3, 2021 by Jess Turchet -
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Posted on February 23, 2021 by Davina Gounden -
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.
Posted on February 23, 2021 by Davina Gounden -
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.
Posted on February 23, 2021 by Davina Gounden -
There is no set environmental fee for any product, the amount of the fee charged is decided by the business.
Posted on February 23, 2021 by Davina Gounden -
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.
Posted on February 23, 2021 by Davina Gounden -
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.
