Starting in 2022, producers are required to report their supply data annually to RPRA.
Each year, producers will need to provide the previous years’ supply data in each of the seven material categories – beverage container, glass material, flexible plastic, rigid plastic, metal material, paper material, and certified compostable products and packaging material – as well as any deductions.
See our FAQ to understand “What deductions are available to producers under the Blue Box Regulation?”
Yes, all eligible communities must submit these reports to the Authority. The Datacall is the source of data for determining the net Blue Box system cost and for allocating funding under the Blue Box Program Plan. The Initial and Transition reports are for a separate and distinct program than Datacall and are required under the new Blue Box Regulation, which requires eligible communities to submit these reports.
While some of the required information in these reports was reported to Datacall, much of the information was not. Where there is overlap between what was reported to Datacall and the information that is required in these reports, please see the guidance below on where to find this information in your Datacall report.
There are three reports for eligible communities under the Blue Box Regulation: an Initial Report, a Transition Report and Change Reports.
These reports need to be completed by all eligible communities under the Blue Box Regulation.
An eligible community is a local municipality or local services board area that is not located in the Far North, or a reserve that is registered by a First Nation with the Authority and not located in the Far North.
If you are an upper-tier municipality or waste association, these reports must be submitted separately for each eligible community in your program.
Visit the Municipal and First Nation webpages for more information.
Sections 54 and 55 of the Blue Box Regulation require municipalities and First Nations to submit the information in the Initial Report and Transition Report to the Authority.
Under the Blue Box Regulation, producers will be fully responsible for the collection and management of Blue Box materials that are supplied into Ontario. To ensure that all communities continue to receive Blue Box collection services, communities will be allocated to producers, or PROs on their behalf, who are obligated to provide collection services. The information that is submitted in the Initial and Transition Reports will be used by PROs to plan for collection in each eligible community.
The Authority will also use the information provided by municipalities and First Nations to ensure that producers are complying with their collection obligations under the Blue Box Regulation.
It is important that municipalities and First Nations complete these reports accurately so that all eligible sources (residences, facilities, and public spaces) in their communities continue to receive Blue Box collection after their community transitions to full producer responsibility.
Blue Box materials supplied to a business (e.g., the operators of a long-term care home) are not obligated, however, there are no deductions available for materials supplied to a consumer in an IC&I setting (e.g., a resident of a long-term care home).
Any Blue Box materials supplied to consumers in Ontario are obligated. Blue Box materials supplied to the IC&I sector are not obligated (except beverage containers which are obligated regardless of the sector supplied into).
The brand holder is the obligated producer.
A marketplace facilitator only becomes obligated for products supplied through its marketplace where the producer would have been a retailer. If the producer is a brand holder or an importer, they remain the obligated producer even when products are distributed by a marketplace facilitator.
A retailer is a business that supplies products to consumers, whether online or at a physical location.
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.
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.
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:
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:
For the portion of the product packaging that a brand holder added to the product, a person is considered a producer:
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:
For any portion of the packaging that is not described above, the producer is the retailer who supplied the product to consumers in Ontario.
No. The list of products obligated under the EEE Regulation is different from the list of products included in the OES Program. The OES Program required producers to report the number of units they supplied, while the EEE Regulation requires producers to report the total weight of products.
To help producers calculate the weight of their products, we have included weight conversion factors in our Verification and Audit procedure, which is included as a weight conversion tool on the registration form. Once a producer determines the units of products on which they are obligated to report, they can enter the units into the conversion tool to get a calculated weight to report to the Authority.
For more information, see the Determining Supply Data section of the Registry Procedure: EEE Verification and Audit.
Yes. If you are a producer with retailers or distributors supplying your obligated EEE into Ontario, you can email us at registry@rpra.ca to discuss options on how to report your supply data. There are several options available, including an easy-to-use sales formula and weight conversion factors. See the EEE Verification and Audit procedure for more information.
One option is to have your supply data reported by each of your retailers or distributors on a piecemeal basis. The piecemeal option requires that extra steps be undertaken by you and the Authority. You must contact the Authority in advance if you wish to pursue this option.
Note that even if you have a retailer or distributor providing data on your behalf, it remains the producer’s obligation to ensure that all the required data gets reported and that it is reported accurately to the Authority in accordance with the EEE Regulation. The entry of inaccurate information by someone on your behalf is not a defense to non-compliance.
