October 18, 2024 Honorable…

October 18, 2024

Honorable Andrea Khanjin
Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks
5th Floor, 777 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2J3

Re: Call2Recycle’s Response to Proposed Amendments to the Batteries Regulation in Ontario

Dear Minister Khanjin,

On behalf of Call2Recycle and our Ontario members/producers who represent approximately 95% of the province’s battery industry, I am pleased to submit comments on proposed amendments to the Batteries Regulation (O. Reg. 30/20), under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016.

In terms of our history and operations, Call2Recycle was founded as a nonprofit in 1997 and is Canada’s leading battery recycling organization across seven regulated provinces. For the past 27 years, we have recycled over 50 million kilograms of batteries. On behalf of more than 400 members across Canada, we run an efficient program that safely diverts batteries from landfills through an extensive collection network, across a wide range of batteries including household, e-mobility, Electric Vehicles (EVs), and shortly vape devices.

We recognize the draft amendments intend to increase flexibility, reduce administrative burden, and simplify compliance requirements for battery producers. While there are some positives within the proposed amendments that are currently under consultation, unfortunately, they will not solve the core issues that currently exist within Ontario’s battery recycling system.

The Ministry has an opportunity to fix the core issues with the Batteries Regulation. In this submission, we provide an overview of proposed regulatory amendments that will strengthen the regulations and bring them in line with other leading jurisdictions. If these changes are not made, we believe the following issues will continue to persist:

1. Continued industry disruptions: for all stakeholders including producers, PROs, processors, the Regulator (RPRA), and the Ministry, as a result of operating under Regulations that do not reflect market realities and are overly burdensome. The regulations and enforcement of them are causing disruptions that are becoming more problematic, prevalent, and public as evidenced by recent media attention. These disruptions can be resolved by making the recommended changes to the Batteries Regulation, which will provide the industry with more clarity and requirements that are outcomes-based.

2. Increased costs to consumers: if the core issues detailed in our submission are not addressed, the recycling cost to Ontario consumers will continue to rise, and we expect this increase could be between 42% and 50% in the short term, with additional increases required in the long term. This is particularly concerning given the current affordability challenges that Ontarians are facing. Producers are spending a considerable amount of time and resources (in a small materials category) to navigate the complexities of the Batteries Regulation, which impacts the costs of batteries on the shelves. This is not a good outcome for Ontarians who rely on batteries for many of their needs and not something producers or PROs want to see happen.

3. Ontario’s regulations are an outlier when compared to other provinces and globally: Ontario’s system is one of the most expensive in the world and among the most complicated. Allowing the private sector to do what it does best requires us to have realistic targets, a system that is consistent with other leading jurisdictions (in Canada and globally), and one that allows for innovation. Ontario’s battery recycling regulations are an outlier compared to other jurisdictions in Canada and internationally, and without further amendments to the regulations, costs will significantly rise and burden Ontario consumers. As a result of complex compliance requirements and rising costs, producers may be compelled to exit the province due to inefficient regulations. This is something we have already started to see and does not align with this government’s goal of strengthening Ontario’s economy.

It is our objective to strengthen the regulations so that Ontarians are not paying more than is necessary to recycle their batteries, help the province meet its recycling objectives, and provide a regulatory system that is clear and simpler to navigate for producers. To that end, we highly recommend that the Ministry considers the following changes to the Batteries Regulation:

1. Recycling Efficiency Rate (RER) and Resources Recovered: this requirement should be fully removed for producers by amending section 16 (1) of the Batteries Regulation. As an alternative, delink the RER from the management requirement, by moving towards a collection target system. Please see Appendix A for details.

2. Single-use and rechargeable batteries should be combined into one collection target: Ontario is one of the only provinces in Canada, and one of the only jurisdictions globally that splits collection/management target/requirement into single-use and rechargeable categories. Streamlining this area of the regulation will provide more flexibility for producers while enabling a greater ability to reach collection/management targets/requirements. Please see Appendix B for details.

3. Collection/management targets/requirements need to be readjusted: While we appreciate that the Ministry has extended 2024’s collection/management target/requirement of 45% to 2029, performance data from other more mature jurisdictions validates our experience with the timeframe required for fulsome consumer adoption of battery recycling practices. As such, collection/management targets/requirements need to be adjusted. Please see Appendix C for details.

4. The effective date of the regulation changes should be from the 2023 performance year and onwards: We have been proactively advocating for these changes to the battery recycling regulations in Ontario since 2023. We hope that through this consultation period, the Ministry will consider the above three proposed amendments and put them into effect retroactively for the 2023 performance year and onwards. Given the good-faith efforts of producers to call out concerns with the regulations and provide input on how they may be improved, we ask that flexibility be granted when it comes to enforcement action. With the regulations still being refined with the input of industry and other stakeholders, we believe that producers should not be unfairly penalized.

5. Record-keeping requirements for large transactions should remain in place: Given that there is a current market gap in total collected volume versus collection/management targets, it is recommended that no amendment be made to the record-keeping requirement. If the record-keeping requirement is amended as per the published plan language document, we believe that it may incentivize out-of-province volume entering Ontario.

6.Proposed changes in other resource categories that warrant the attention of the battery program:Should MECP expand Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) product categories, it is stronglyrecommended that MECP place both the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) andreplacement/aftermarket batteries (if applicable) under the Batteries category. Please see Appendix D for details.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you again for considering Call2Recycle’s feedback on the proposed amendments to the regulations. By increasing efficiencies within the regulations, producers can increase efforts aimed at public participation in battery returns with simplified consumer calls to action, and thereby focus on environmental outcomes while keeping costs down for consumers.

Sincerely,
Michael Partab
Chief Financial Officer

Attachment: Please see the attached letter and supporting appendix (A to D).