Canadian Product Stewardship And EPR: A Review Of 2024 And Beyond

In 2024, Canadian governments and non-governmental organizations continued to develop innovative product stewardship and extended producer responsibility ("EPR") programs aimed at reducing waste destined for landfills. These initiatives cover a broad range of product categories, including tires, batteries, electronics, hazardous and special products ("HSP"), and packaging and printed paper ("PPP").

This article is the latest installment of Gowling WLG's ongoing bi-annual series that provides an overview of current developments in Canadian product stewardship and EPR programs.¹

This review provides updates on new and expanded initiatives, outlines key timelines, and highlights the shift from product stewardship to EPR models in the latter half of 2024. The article also offers a high-level look at emerging EPR and stewardship initiatives expected in early 2025.

A. How did programs change in the second half of 2024, and what changes are expected in early 2025 and beyond?

1. British Columbia
2. Alberta
3. Saskatchewan
4. Ontario
5. Quebec
6. New Brunswick
7. Nova Scotia
8. PEI
9. Yukon

A. How did programs change in the second half of 2024, and what changes are expected in early 2025 and beyond?

British Columbia

Upcoming changes

• The British Columbia government is seeking to develop policies for preventing waste from non-residential PPP. The government has asked for public contributions until July 23, 2024, and a "What We Learned Report" is anticipated in the coming months.²

Alberta

Recent developments

• On August 13, 2024, the Government of Alberta published the Electronics Designation Amendment Regulation to expand the list of electronic products covered by Alberta's regulated electronics recycling program to include those covered under the previous two-year pilot project overseen by the Alberta Recycling Management Authority ("ARMA").³ On April 1, 2025, Alberta's Electronics Recycling Program will permanently be expanded to include these e-pilot devices.⁴

Upcoming changes

• As noted in our last update, registration remains open for the ARMA single-use PPP and HSP EPR programs.⁵ The PPP program, implemented under the Extended Producer Responsibility Regulation, required producers to report designated material supply data for the calendar years of 2022 and 2023 by June 30, 2024, in the ARMA Connect Supply Report Portal.⁶

The EPR systems for PPP and HSP will be operational for registered communities by April 1, 2025.⁷

Saskatchewan

Recent developments

• As noted in our last update, on May 14, 2024, Saskatchewan approved the SK Recycles (formerly Multi-Material Stewardship Western) Household Packaging and Paper Extended Producer Responsibility Program Plan.⁸ On December 1, 2024, the transition from the previous Multi-Material Stewardship Western stewardship program to a full extended producer responsibility program for PPP in Saskatchewan began.⁹ The transition, which will proceed in three phases, is anticipated to be complete by the end of 2027.

Upcoming changes

• In 2024, the Government of Saskatchewan conducted public engagement regarding proposed amendments to the Electronic Equipment Stewardship Regulations.¹⁰ The proposed amendments are intended to align with the province's Household Packaging and Paper Stewardship Program Regulations and to potentially expand upon the list of electronic products captured by the program.

Manitoba

Upcoming changes

• As noted in our last update, Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba ("MMSM") is undergoing a transition to EPR and aims to establish an EPR program for PPP by March 31, 2026.¹¹

Ontario

Recent developments

• On December 19, 2024, the Government of Ontario amended four regulations pursuant to the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 including the Batteries, Electrical and Electronic Equipment, Tires, and HSP regulations.¹² The amendments are intended to increase flexibility, reduce burden, and simplify requirements for producers, particularly by increasing the flexibility of the requirements for collection sites and networks as well as reducing or combining targets for many programs. All amendments came into effect on January 1, 2025.
• In summer and fall 2024, the Resource Productivity & Recovery Authority ("RPRA") issued the first administrative penalties¹³ pursuant to the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016¹⁴ and the Administrative Penalties Regulation¹⁵ in relation to non-compliance with the Act and its regulations. The penalties range from $75,000 to $340,457.04, with two of the three penalties including an additional amount calculated as the economic benefit derived from the non-compliance

Upcoming changes

• The RPRA is currently conducting consultations on compliance guidance for buying and selling performance credits (stakeholder consultation is expected in 2025), and consultation on blue box performance and audits.¹⁶

Quebec

Upcoming changes

• On November 20, 2024, Quebec's Minister of the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, Benoit Charrette, tabled Bill 81—An Act to amend various provisions relating to the environment—which proposes to amend the majority of Quebec's environmental legislation.¹⁷ Bill 81 proposes to add several regulatory powers to ensure the recovery and reclamation of residual materials, including an expansion of EPR over new products and sectors, obligating certain producers to pay for the costs of recovery, regulating the marketing, distribution, and sale of single-use products, and control over certain unsold goods.

New Brunswick

Recent developments

• On July 15, 2024, the amended New Brunswick Designated Materials Regulation came into force, introducing EPR programs for batteries and lighting, and expanding existing programs, including the EPR program for electronics in the province.¹⁸ Producers were required to register with Recycle NB by October 31, 2024, and submit a stewardship plan for approval by December 31, 2024.¹⁹ As part of the transition to the new regulation, producers will be required to submit a new stewardship plan for approval by June 30, 2025, to be implemented January 1, 2026.²⁰

Nova Scotia

ecent developments

• Producers were required to register with the Divert NS PPP EPR Program by January 1, 2024, and required initial reporting from 2023 by October 1, 2024. Nova Scotia's PPP EPR program is expected to be operational by December 1, 2025.²¹
• Battery producers were required to sign up with a PRO by January 1, 2024, and the battery EPR program was implemented through Call2Recycle on July 1, 2024.²²

Prince Edward Island

Recent developments

• On October 1, 2024, amendments to the Prince Edward Island Materials Stewardship and Recycling Regulations came into force. Wearable electronic devices, including smart glasses, are now included in the province's regulated electronics recycling program.²³

Yukon

Recent developments

• In January 2024, the Yukon Government approved the Extended Producer Responsibility Regulation for HSP and PPP. The upcoming Yukon battery recycling program under the Regulation will be overseen by Call2Recycle, and is anticipated to launch in early 2025.²⁴
• Pursuant to Yukon's Extended Producer Responsibility Regulation, stewards and producer responsibility organizations were required to submit a stewardship plan for PPP by September 25, 2024.²⁵ If Circular Materials' Draft Stewardship Plan is approved, the program is expected to launch on October 1, 2025.²⁶

B. Next steps

In Canada, product stewardship and EPR programs continue to grow in number and scope. Companies must stay on top of these developments to maintain compliance (and to avoid the increasingly heavy enforcement actions available to regulators).

Footnotes

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