The trend towards producer-pay recycling in British Columbia has been growing in recent years, resulting in significant changes to the operations of a variety of commercial interests in the province.
On October 1st, the final phase of the B.C. LightRecycle program for retailers, distributors and manufacturers of new lamps, ballasts and lighting fixtures sold or supplied in British Columbia is scheduled to come into effect. First implemented on July 1, the full program was phased in over several months to allow affected parties time to ensure compliance with what is proving to be a complex body of obligations.
Under the recycling regulation of the British Columbia Environmental Management Act, British Columbia retailers, distributors and manufacturers were required to engage in an approved stewardship program by July 1 for the recycling of all of new lamps, ballasts and lighting fixtures sold or supplied into the residential, commercial and industrial sectors of the province. Affected parties had the option of either satisfying the onerous requirements of the recycling regulation themselves by implementing their own stewardship plan (the logistics of which can be challenging and extremely costly), or of enrolling with Product Care, a non-profit industry association that has developed an approved stewardship program in conjunction with the Ministry of Environment.
Product Care has been accepting residential-use florescent lights at its drop-off centres since 2010, and on October 1 their B.C. LightRecycle program expanded to include the collection, transportation and recycling of all end-of-life residential, institutional, commercial and industrial-use lighting products. Program costs are funded by a new body of eco fees applied to lamps, ballasts and lighting fixtures sold or supplied by Product Care members in British Columbia, and as of October 1 members are required to report their sales of the products and remit applicable eco fees to Product Care. Manufacturers have the option of either passing these fees on to their customers directly (by showing the charge separately on invoices or by incorporating the eco fee into the price of their products), or of passing the fee down the supply chain. As a result, if a manufacturer can arrange with its distributors to ensure that the requisite eco fees for an affected product are remitted to Product Care, then the manufacturer will not be responsible for remitting the fees themselves.
Compliance with reporting obligations under the program is also flexible, requiring only one member of a supply chain to directly report to Product Care. Consequently, if they haven't already done so, manufacturers of affected products should communicate with each of their British Columbia distributors and retailers to determine who will join the B.C. LightRecycle program and report their sales to Product Care.
With the passing of the July 1 and October 1 deadlines, the punitive consequences of non-compliance with the Recycling Regulation should be considered. While the maximum fine for failing to participate in an approved stewardship program is $200,000, in practice penalties will be determined on a case-by-case basis by a conservation officer working in conjunction with other Ministry officials, and will depend on the nature of the infraction. A Ministry source confirmed that it will likely not be issuing penalties until it has communicated with non-compliant retailers, distributors or manufacturers, both over the phone and in writing, and has issued a formal notice. However, in light of the onerous requirements of the recycling regulation and the consequences of non-compliance, clients in affected industries should ensure that if they have not already enrolled in Product Care's B.C. LightRecycle program or do not have an approved stewardship plan in place, they contact Product Care or the Ministry of Environment as soon as possible.
The changes affecting the British Columbia lighting industry are emblematic of a larger trend in the province. As the B.C. government seeks ways to take the burden off taxpayers for the costs of ensuring that industry participate in environmentally sound practices, other industries, especially in the manufacturing sector, should take note of the lighting industry's experience. Further changes will surely be coming soon.
Originally published in The Lawyers Weekly
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