Posted on November 16, 2022 by Esther Filer -
A lighting producer qualifies for an exemption if their average weight of supply for that calendar year is less than or equal to 700 kg.
Average supply weight is determined using the following formula:
Average weight of lighting supply = (Y3 + Y4 + Y5) / 3
Eg. 2025 average weight of supply = (2022 + 2021 + 2020) / 3
Lighting producers that meet the exemption criteria are exempt from:
- Registering with and reporting to RPRA
- Establishing a collection and management system
- Meeting a management requirement
- Promotion and education requirements
Producers must verify that they continue to meet the exemption annually, since their average weight of supply will change from year to year.
Producers that are exempt must keep records of the materials they supplied, as set out in section 30 of the regulation.
Producers are advised to confirm their exemption with the Compliance Team at 833-600-0530 or registry@rpra.ca.
See our FAQs: “How are lighting producers’ minimum management requirements determined?” and “What do I have to do if I am an exempt lighting producer?”
Posted on November 16, 2022 by Esther Filer -
An exempt producer is not required to:
- Register and report to RPRA
- Establish a collection and management system
- Meet a management requirement
- Meet promotion and education requirements
Exempt producers must retain records related to the weight of lighting supplied into Ontario each year and provide them to RPRA upon request.
See our FAQ: ‘How do I determine if I am an exempt lighting producer?’
Posted on November 14, 2022 by RPRA Communications -
No, beverage containers are not eligible for this deduction.
The allowable deduction is permitted for Blue Box materials that are deposited into a “non-eligible source,” meaning a place where consumers dispose of Blue Box materials that are not included in the producer-run collection system.
Under the Blue Box Regulation, beverage containers that are supplied to Ontario consumers for personal, family, household or business purposes are obligated Blue Box materials. The inclusion of “business purposes” is unique to the beverage container material category.
Because supplying a beverage container can mean either supplying for “personal, family and/or household purposes” that will likely be consumed and disposed of in a residential context (e.g., a home, apartment, long-term care facility, etc.) or supplying for “business purposes” that will likely be consumed and disposed of in a commercial or institutional context (e.g., a restaurant, college or gym), there are no “non-eligible sources” for beverage containers. All beverage containers must be reported and collected from all sources, whether they are residential, business, commercial or institutional.
See our FAQ to understand “What deductions are available to producers under the Blue Box Regulation?”
Posted on October 31, 2022 by Jess Turchet -
If you select electronic data interchange (EDI) as your method of payment, this is an electronic payment through your bank, also commonly known as EFT or ACH.
Follow these steps to complete your payment:
- Submit your payment using RPRA’s banking information provided on your invoice.
- Be sure to reference your Invoice Number when you submit this payment to your bank so that we will be able to identify your payment.
Please note:
- Registry invoices are considered due on receipt.
- Invoices are in CAD funds and payments must be sent in CAD.
- It may take 1-2 weeks for your payment to be reflected in your Registry account once you have completed it.
If you have questions relating to fee payment, contact our Compliance and Registry Team at registry@rpra.ca or call 647-496-0530 or toll-free at 1-833-600-0530.
Posted on October 31, 2022 by Monica Ahmed -
If you select cheque as your method of payment, follow these steps to complete your payment:
- Make your cheque payable to “Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority”
- Enter your Invoice Number on the memo line of the cheque
- Please send your cheque to*:
-
- Resource Productivity Recovery Authority
- PO Box 46114, STN A
- Toronto, ON
- M5W 4K9
*As of January 20, 2023, the address for mailing cheques to RPRA has been revised. Please update your records and send cheques to the above address going forward.
Please note:
- Registry invoices are considered due on receipt.
- Invoices are in CAD funds and payments must be sent in CAD.
- It may take 2-4 weeks for your payment to be reflected in your Registry account once you have mailed your cheque due to mail and cheque processing times.
If you have questions relating to fee payment, contact our Compliance and Registry Team at registry@rpra.ca or call 647-496-0530 or toll-free at 1-833-600-0530.
Posted on October 31, 2022 by Michelle Hoover -
If you select electronic bill payment as your method of payment, this method of payment is done through your online banking account, using the bill payment functionality. It is available at major Canadian banks (e.g., TD, RBC, BMO, Scotiabank, etc.).
Follow these steps to complete your payment:
- Log in to your bank account.
- Go to the bill payment section and choose to add a payee.
- Search for and select “RPRA” as the payee.
- Once “RPRA” is selected, enter your registration number as the account number to make your payment. Your registration number can be found on your invoice.
Please note:
- Registry invoices are considered due on receipt.
- Invoices are in CAD funds and payments must be sent in CAD.
- It may take 1-2 weeks for your payment to be reflected in your Registry account once you have completed it.
If you have questions relating to fee payment, contact our Compliance and Registry Team at registry@rpra.ca or call 647-496-0530 or toll-free at 1-833-600-0530.
Posted on October 31, 2022 by Michelle Hoover -
If you select bank withdrawal as your method of payment, this authorizes the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority to make a one-time withdrawal for the Registry invoice payment from the account you provided.
Bank Withdrawal – Important Terms:
- You have authorized RPRA to make one-time debits from your account. RPRA will obtain your authorization before any additional one-time or sporadic withdrawal is debited from your account. You have agreed that this confirmation may be provided at least three (3) calendar days before the first payment is withdrawn from your account. You have waived any and all requirements for pre-notification of the account being debited.
- Your payments are being made on behalf of a business.
- Your agreement may be cancelled provided notice is received thirty (30) days before the next withdrawal. If any of the above details are incorrect, please contact us immediately at the contact information below. If the details are correct, you do not need to do anything further and your Pre-Authorized Debits (PAD) will be processed. You have certain recourse rights if any debit does not comply with these terms. For example, you have the right to receive a reimbursement for any PAD that is not authorized or is not consistent with this PAD Agreement. To obtain more information on your recourse rights, contact your financial institution or visit www.payments.ca.
Please note:
- Registry invoices are considered due on receipt.
- Invoices are in CAD funds and payments must be sent in CAD.
- It may take 1-2 weeks for the involved banks to process your payment.
If you have questions relating to fee payment, contact our Compliance and Registry Team at registry@rpra.ca or call 647-496-0530 or toll-free at 1-833-600-0530.
Posted on October 31, 2022 by Michelle Hoover -
If you select credit card as your method of payment, this method of payment is done through your Registry account.
Follow these steps to complete your payment:
- When you are in the payment method section in the Registry, select credit card as your preferred method.
- Input your credit card details.
- Click submit and payment will process automatically.
Please note:
- Registry invoices are considered due on receipt.
- Invoices are in CAD funds and payments must be sent in CAD.
- Once your transaction has been approved, your payment will be reflected in your Registry account immediately.
If you have questions relating to fee payment, contact our Compliance and Registry Team at registry@rpra.ca or call 647-496-0530 or toll-free at 1-833-600-0530.
Posted on September 30, 2022 by Jess Turchet -
The mobile app will be inaccessible if the user has logged out of the mobile app and the user is offline, as you need a network connection to log into the app. If the user stays logged into the mobile app, they will be able to use the app offline. It is advised that drivers/users stay logged into the app, or log in before going out of an internet zone, to ensure they can always use offline mode.
Posted on September 29, 2022 by RPRA Communications -
For the purposes of the Blue Box Regulation, a beverage container is a container that:
- Contains a ready-to-drink beverage product,
- “Ready-to-drink” means a beverage packaged by the manufacturer for immediate consumption that does not require any preparation. A ready-to-drink beverage is intended to be consumed as purchased and does not require a dispensing device to be consumed.
- “Beverage” means a consumable liquid for enjoyment or hydration. It does not include an “alcoholic beverage”, or “non-alcoholic beer, wine or spirits” as defined in O. Reg. 391/21.
- Is made from metal, glass, paper or rigid plastic, or any combination of these materials, and
- If a beverage container is made only of flexible plastic, it would be obligated as a Blue Box material but would be reported under the material category “Flexible Plastic” rather than the “Beverage Container” material category. The Blue Box Regulation defines flexible plastic as unmoulded plastic. For more information on reporting of packaging and beverage containers that consist of multiple materials, please see the “Component Threshold Rule” in the Blue Box Verification and Audit Procedure Registry Procedure.
- Is sealed by its manufacturer.
- A cup provided to a consumer in a restaurant filled with fountain pop is not sealed by the manufacturer and is therefore not considered a beverage container. However, the cup (including the lid and straw) would still be obligated as a Blue Box material in the paper and/or plastic material categories.
For greater clarity, the Registrar does not consider the packaging from the following product types to be a beverage container:
- Infant formula
- Meal replacements, nutritional supplements or dietary supplements
- Regulated health products
- Concentrated beverages intended to be mixed or diluted before consumption, such as frozen juices, cocktail mixers, extracts and flavour enhancers
- Liquids that are not intended to be consumed as purchased such as soup, syrups, cream and other beverage additives, whipping cream, buttermilk, broth
- Beverage containers made of flexible plastics such as milk bags (these are still to be reported as flexible plastics)
Milk products and substitutes (e.g., soy beverage, almond beverage, a rigid plastic container of milk, drinkable yogurt) are beverage containers provided they are packaged in a container as defined above.
Posted on August 30, 2022 by RPRA Communications -
A brand supply list is a list of brands of obligated products that a producer supplies to consumers in Ontario. A producer must provide a brand supply list that makes up their supply data annually to RPRA. Each program has different requirements regarding how a producer must submit a brand supply list. For more information, consult the applicable programs’ walkthrough guide or contact RPRA’s Compliance and Registry Team at 1-833-600-0530 or by emailing registry@rpra.ca.
Posted on August 10, 2022 by Julia Struyf -
Starting January 1, obligated parties are required to report on waste management activities, including manifesting, through the online HWP Registry instead of reporting through the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Park’s Hazardous Waste Information Network (HWIN) and instead of using paper manifests.
The regulated community no longer has access to HWIN to manage their accounts and pay fees associated with activities from 2022 or earlier.
If necessary, the ministry will contact generators to address balances remaining in HWIN pre-paid accounts from 2022.
Posted on August 4, 2022 by RPRA Communications -
In the Blue Box Regulation, certified compostable products and packaging is defined as material that:
- is only capable of being processed by composting, anaerobic digestion or other processes that result in decomposition by bacteria or other living organisms, and
- is certified compostable by an international, national, or industry standard that is listed in this procedure.
All certified compostable products and packaging reported by producers must be certified under one of the following standards:
- CAN/BNQ 0017-088: Specifications for Compostable Plastics
- ISO 17088: Specifications for compostable plastics
- ASTM D6400: Standard Specification for Labeling of Plastics Designed to be Aerobically Composted in Municipal or Industrial Facilities
- ASTM D6868: Standard Specification for Labeling of End Items that Incorporate Plastics and Polymers as Coatings or Additives with Paper and Other Substrates Designed to be Aerobically Composted in Municipal or Industrial Facilities
- EN 13432: Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation – Test scheme and evaluation criteria for the final acceptance of packaging
