The Government of Ontario recently released final electronic stewardship regulations for the province. (The Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) Regulation under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016, was filed on September 21, 2020.
As a next step, The Ontario Government is making EEE producers fully responsible for managing their products by transitioning the existing Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) program to Ontario Regulation 522/20.
This transition will put in place a new framework that:
- makes individual EEE producers responsible for the collection and end-of-life management of EEE they supply into Ontario
- will give EEE producers more control over how they safely manage their EEE and improve environmental outcomes
New requirements for EEE
The EEE regulation requires producers of information technology, telecommunications and audio visual (ITTAV) equipment and lighting to:
- establish free collection networks for consumers
- achieve management requirements through reduction, reuse and/or recycling activities
- provide promotion and education materials until the end of 2022 for ITTAV and the end of 2024 for lighting to increase consumer awareness
- register, report, keep records, and undertake audits related to management activities
Producers of ITTAV equipment are required to register by November 30, 2020 and their collection and management obligations will begin on January 1, 2021. For lighting, producers are required to register by November 30, 2022 and begin their collection and management obligations on January 1, 2023.
Similar to the batteries regulation, the EEE regulation makes individual producers legally responsible for meeting the requirements. However, to facilitate an efficient delivery model and allow for economies of scale, producers would have the flexibility to meet their obligations individually, or collaboratively with other producers, by retaining service providers.
Most service providers (e.g. producer responsibility organizations, haulers, processors and specified refurbishers) will be required to register, report and keep records. Collectors are only required to keep records.
