Ontario’s Blue Box Regulation makes producers fully accountable and financially responsible for their products and packaging once they reach their end of life and are disposed. (See CA’s member update on Ontario’s Blue Box program HERE). The Regulations also gives producers choices for resource recovery services in a competitive market.
Producers must join (or create) a producer responsibility organization (PRO) to meet their obligations under the Blue Box Regulations and they may only enter into a representation agreement with one PRO at any time. Two new Producer Responsibility Organizations (PRO) have been recently formed in Ontario to provide producers with resource recovery services – Circular Materials and the Resource Recovery Alliance.
Circular Materials was formed by 15 founding members – which include food, beverage and consumer products manufacturers, restaurants and retailers – to offer blue box recycling services in Ontario. They will operate as a not-for-profit, producer-governed organization with a mandate to support producers with meeting their obligations under Ontario’s blue box regulation.
The Resource Recovery Alliance (“RRA”) was formed by GFL Environmental Inc. (press release). RRA will become a producer responsibility organization (“PRO”) under the new legislation and will be integrated within GFL’s broad North American service offerings which include collection, sorting, processing, marketing, and reporting of blue box materials. GFL also announced that RRA has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Canadian Stewardship Services Alliance (“CSSA”).
Importantly for CA members who are “producers”, you are required to register with Ontario’s Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA) by October 1, 2021, confirming your company is a producer and the materials you supply into Ontario. In order to meet your obligations under the Blue Box Regulations, you’ll also need to choose a PRO and enter into a representation agreement with them by October 1, 2021 (as you will need to list your chosen PRO in your RPRA registration).
