Topic: Producer

How do I determine if I am an exempt tire producer?

Producers with a collection requirement under 1000 kg are exempt from registering and reporting to RPRA in that calendar year. Producers who meet this exemption are, however, required to retain records for five years.

To view your collection requirement, log into your Registry account, download a copy of your 2022 Tires Report and review the section with your minimum collection requirements for 2023.

Producers with a 2023 collection requirement under 1000 kg should contact our Compliance and Registry Team at 833-600-0530 or registry@rpra.ca to determine if their registration should be deactivated.

To calculate your collection requirement for a given year, use the formula below:

(Y3 + Y4 +Y5) / 3 x 0.85

Y3 – the weight of tires supplied in the calendar year three years prior to the collection year

Y4 – the weight of tires supplied in the calendar year four years prior to the collection year

Y5 – the weight of tires supplied in the calendar year five years prior to the collection year

For example, to calculate your 2024 collection requirement, you would input your 2021 (Y3), 2020 (Y4) and 2019 (Y5) supply data.

Can a producer choose to work with an external consultant?

Producers are obligated parties under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act and are ultimately responsible for their data submitted through RPRA’s Registry. Producers can choose to contract with an external consultant to support their data submission, but third parties have limited permissions in the Registry as they are not regulated parties.

A producer can choose to assign a primary or secondary user profile in their Registry account to an external consultant. An external consultant may submit supply data reports and/or pay registry fees on the producer’s behalf.

External consultants cannot submit and/or sign registration, executive attestations, account admin changes or supply data adjustment documentation on behalf of a producer. External consultants cannot be account admins, nor can they manage a PRO within the Registry on behalf of a producer.

Who does RPRA consider an acceptable verifier/qualified person?

A Verifier can be an individual, either an employee of the business or a hired third-party (including a PRO), who has one of the following designations and is not the same person who prepared the supply report:

  • CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant) in Canada or CPA (Certified Public Accountant) in the US
  • ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accounts) Qualification
  • CIA (Certified Internal Auditor)
  • CPB (Certified Professional Bookkeeper) in Canada
  • RPA (Registered Professional Accountant) in Canada

Where a producer is exempt, do the obligations for the materials for which they are the producer become the responsibility of the organization that is next in the producer hierarchy?

No, where a producer is exempt, the regulatory obligations do not become the responsibility of the organization that is next in the producer hierarchy. The exempt producer remains the “producer” for those materials; they are just exempt from certain requirements under the regulation as set out in the relevant provisions providing for the exemption. This is the case in all RRCEA regulations.

For annual supply reporting verification, how do I know if I am a small or large ITT/AV producer?

For the purposes of ITT/AV supply reporting verification:

  • “Large ITT/AV producer” means an ITT/AV producer with a minimum management requirement greater than or equal to 200,000 kilograms in the previous calendar year.

To view your management requirements, log into your Registry account, download a copy of your previous year’s Supply Report and review the section with your minimum management requirements for your reporting year.

Beginning in 2023, only large producers are required to submit a Supply Data Verification Report. Small producers will no longer be required to submit a verification report but will be subject to inspections. Review the Registry Procedure – Verification and Audit for more information.

For annual supply reporting verification, how do I know if I am a small or large battery producer?

For the purposes of battery supply reporting verification:

  • “Large single-use battery producer” means a battery producer with a minimum management requirement greater than or equal to 50,000 kilograms of single-use batteries in the previous calendar year.
  • “Large rechargeable battery producer” means a battery producer with a minimum management requirement greater than or equal to 5,000 kilograms of rechargeable batteries in the previous calendar year.

To view your management requirements, log into your Registry account, download a copy of your previous year’s Supply Report and review the section with your minimum management requirements for your reporting year.

Beginning in 2023, only large producers are required to submit a Supply Data Verification Report. Small producers will no longer be required to submit a verification report but will be subject to inspections. Review the Registry Procedure – Verification and Audit for more information.

How do newspaper producers report their supply of newspapers?

For the purpose of reporting supply data under the Blue Box Regulation, the weight of newspaper, including any protective wrapping and supplemental advertisements and inserts, must be reported in the appropriate material categories. For example, newsprint must be reported in the ‘paper’ category, while any protective plastic wrapping must be reported as ‘flexible plastic’.

Then, producers will be asked to indicate what percentage of their total Blue Box material supply was newspaper, including any protective wrapping and supplemental advertisements and inserts, in that calendar year.

When reporting either their total supply or the percentage of their total supply that is newspaper, a producer should only include the weight of Blue Box materials for which they are the producer. For example, if flyers for which there is a different brand holder resident in Canada are supplied along with a newspaper and those flyers have a different brand holder resident in Canada, their weight should not be reported by the newspaper producer. Instead, it is the brand holder of those flyers who would be required to include the weight of those flyers in their own supply report.

See our FAQ: “What is a newspaper?”

Can Blue Box producers or PROs collect materials that are not marketed to consumers under the Blue Box regulation?

Yes, a Blue Box producer or PRO (producer responsibility organization) on behalf of a producer, or a service provider on behalf of either party, can voluntarily choose to collect Blue Box materials that are not marketed to consumers.

Blue Box materials not marketed to consumers cannot be counted towards meeting a producer’s collection or management requirements under the Blue Box Regulation.

If Blue Box materials that are marketed to consumers are co-collected with Blue Box materials not marketed to consumers, a person must use a methodology or process acceptable to the Authority to account for materials supplied to a consumer or not. Anyone considering this can contact the Compliance Team to discuss at registry@rpra.ca or 833-600-0530.

For example, if Blue Box materials supplied to a consumer in Ontario are collected along the same collection route as Blue Box materials that were not supplied to a consumer, they must be accounted for separately. When those materials are then sent to a processor, they must also be accounted for separately.

See the FAQ: Who is a consumer under the Blue Box Regulation?

Can Blue Box producers or PROs collect from locations that are not eligible sources?

Yes, a Blue Box producer, or PRO (producer responsibility organization) on behalf of a producer, or a service provider on behalf of either party, can choose to offer collection services to any location. Blue Box producers are required to provide collection services to all eligible sources, as well as public spaces.

Blue Box materials collected from locations that are not eligible sources cannot count towards meeting a producer’s management requirement unless they were supplied to a consumer in Ontario. See this FAQ: Who is a consumer under the Blue Box Regulation?

If a person is co-collecting from locations that are eligible sources and not eligible sources, a person must use a methodology or process acceptable to the Authority to account for materials collected from each type of source. Anyone considering this can contact the Compliance Team to discuss at registry@rpra.ca or 833-600-0530.

For example, if materials are collected from an eligible source and a location that is not an eligible source along the same collection route, they must be accounted for separately. When those materials are then sent to a processor, they must also be accounted for separately.

Can a producer collect products or materials that are not designated under RRCEA regulations?

Yes, a producer, a PRO (producer responsibility organization) on behalf of a producer, or a service provider on behalf of either party, can collect any product or material (including materials or products that are not designated under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 (RRCEA)). For example, a battery producer may choose to collect batteries that weigh over 5kg; a tire producer may choose to collect bicycle tires; or a Blue Box producer may choose to collect books.

Products or materials that are not designated under RRCEA regulations cannot be counted towards meeting a producer’s collection or management requirements under RRCEA.

If designated materials are co-collected with materials that are not designated, a person must use a methodology or process acceptable to the Authority to account for those materials. Anyone considering this can contact the Compliance Team to discuss at registry@rpra.ca or 833-600-0530.

For example, if bicycle tires are collected at the same time as automotive tires, they must be accounted for separately both when collected and when sent to a processor.