Proposed amendments to the producer responsibility regulations for tires, batteries and electrical and electronic equipment made under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016

Ontario is proposing changes to reduce unnecessary administrative requirements for the tire, battery and electrical and electronic equipment industries while ensuring that the environment and consumers are protected. This is a part of our ongoing commitment to ensure Ontario’s producer responsibility framework is achieving its intended results without creating unnecessary burdens for businesses in those sectors.

Ontario’s producer responsibility framework was established to make producers of specified materials environmentally accountable and financially responsible for the waste generated from products they supply into Ontario.

There are currently five producer responsibility regulations under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 (RRCEA), including:

• the Tires Regulation (O. Reg. 225/18)
• the Batteries Regulation (O. Reg. 30/20)
• the Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) Regulation (O. Reg. 522/20)
• the Hazardous and Special Products (HSP) Regulation (O. Reg. 449/21)
• the Blue Box Regulation (O. Reg. 391/21)

We are proposing amendments to the producer responsibility regulations for tires, batteries and electrical and electronic equipment (EEE).

Proposed changes to the Tires Regulation

In the Fall 2021 Red Tape Reduction package, we committed to reducing burden and aligning the Tires Regulation with the other RRCEA regulations. To achieve this, we are proposing amendments to:

• remove audit requirements for supply data reporting and replace with an internal verification process which maintains oversight for compliance
• remove reporting and audit requirements for visible fees but keep the promotion and education requirements related to the fees
• remove requirement for ongoing general promotion and education to instead allow producers to determine what promotion and education is necessary to meet their collection and management targets
• reduce the frequency of management audits from annually to once every three years
• amend the small producer exemption to require just record keeping, rather than registration and reporting
• update the producer hierarchy to replace Ontario brandholders with Canadian brandholders thereby reducing the number of obligated parties
• add a new “volunteer organization” provision to allow non-Canadian brandholders to register and report on behalf of Ontario importers and marketers
• add a provision to clarify that producer responsibility organizations (PROs) have shared liability with producers for certain aspects of the regulation, such as establishing the collection network and ensuring tires collected are managed properly
• allow tires that are reused with modification to count toward a producer’s management target which will provide additional management options

We are also proposing amendments to the Tires Regulation to enhance regulatory outcomes, align with the other RRCEA regulations and remove old provisions. These include:

• expanding the requirement for producers to provide on-demand collection services to additional sources including municipalities with populations of less than 1,000, territorial districts and First Nation communities
• revising the definition for “tire hauler” to include parties that arrange for transport rather than just those that undertake transport activities
• updating the existing access and privacy provisions to clarify what information is restricted in relation to individual producers
• removing old provisions related to initial timing for registration and reporting to remove requirements that are no longer relevant

Proposed changes to the Batteries Regulation

We are proposing amendments to the Batteries Regulation to reduce burden, increase transparency, provide clarity, align with the other RRCEA regulations and remove old provisions. These changes would:

• amend the small producer exemption to require just record keeping in all cases, rather than registration and reporting for some small producers
• add a new promotion and education requirement related to visible fees to create transparency around who is charging the fee and what it will be used for
• update the “volunteer organization” provision to align with other RRCEA regulations
• add a provision to clarify that PROs have shared liability with producers for certain aspects of the regulation, such as establishing the collection network and ensuring batteries collected are managed properly
• update the existing access and privacy provisions to clarify what information is restricted in relation to individual producers
• remove old provisions related to initial timing for registration and reporting to remove requirements that are no longer relevant

Proposed changes to the Electrical and Electronic (EEE) Regulation

We are proposing key changes to the EEE Regulation to correct potential market issues by placing requirements to ensure producers are managing the majority of end-of-life materials being generated and align with the other RRCEA regulations. The proposed changes would:

• increase the management target for information technology, telecommunications and audio visual (ITTAV) equipment from 60 to 70 per cent in 2023 and from 65 to 70 per cent in 2024 which will require producers to seek out and manage additional amounts of ITTAV
  • with these changes there would be only one target of 70 per cent that will start in 2023 and continue thereafter
• expand the requirement for producers to provide on-demand collection services to additional sources that have collected at least four tonnes of ITTAV equipment, including all municipalities throughout Ontario regardless of whether they are part of a producer’s collection network as well as businesses and institutions
  • this change would increase accessibility throughout Ontario, reduce burden for municipalities and ensure that producers are responsible for managing ITTAV equipment coming though any channel

We are also proposing the following additional amendments to the EEE Regulation to reduce burden, increase transparency, provide clarity, align with the other RRCEA regulations and remove outdated provisions:

• add a new promotion and education requirement related to visible fees to create transparency around who is charging the fee and what it will be used for
• update the “producer agreement” provisions to clarify that PROs have shared liability with producers for certain aspects of the regulation, such as establishing the collection network and ensuring EEE collected are managed properly
• remove outdated provisions related to initial timing for registration and reporting and to remove requirements that are no longer relevant

In addition to reducing burden for producers of tires, batteries and EEE, some of the proposed amendments would also reduce burden for the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority, which is responsible for overseeing Ontario’s producer responsibility framework.