O. Reg. 349/22: BLUE BOX

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ontario regulation 349/22

made under the

Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016

Made: April 14, 2022
Filed: April 14, 2022
Published on e-Laws: April 19, 2022
Printed in The Ontario Gazette: April 30, 2022

Amending O. Reg. 391/21

(BLUE BOX)

1. (1) The definition of “allocation table” in subsection 1 (1) of Ontario Regulation 391/21 is revoked.

(2) The definition of “collection period” in subsection 1 (1) of the Regulation is revoked.

(3) Paragraphs 1 to 4 of the definition of “producer responsibility organization” in subsection 1 (1) of the Regulation are revoked and the following substituted:

1. Arranging, establishing or operating a collection or management system.

2. Arranging, establishing or operating a promotion and education system.

3. Preparing and submitting reports.

4. Representing a producer for another purpose related to this Regulation;

(4) The definition of “representation agreement” in subsection 1 (1) of the Regulation is revoked.

2. Section 5 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Non-application

5. Parts IV, V, VI and VIII of this Regulation do not apply to blue box material in the certified compostable products and packaging material category and blue box material in the certified compostable products and packaging material category shall not,

(a) give rise to collection obligations under Part IV;

(b) be registered as a material category for an alternative collection system under Part V;

(c) be used for the calculation of a management requirement under Part VI; or

(d) give rise to promotion and education obligations under Part VIII.

Newspapers

5.1 (1) If, in a calendar year, more than 70 per cent of the weight of blue box material supplied to consumers in Ontario for which the person is a producer is newspapers, that person is exempt from Parts IV, VI and VIII in the following two calendar years.

(2) For greater certainty, a producer to whom Part IV applies shall collect newspapers as part of its collection of blue box material.

(3) For greater certainty, a producer to whom Part VI applies may use recovered resources from newspapers to meet the producer’s management requirement under Part VI.

(4) For the purposes of this section,

“newspapers” include any protective plastic wrapping and any supplemental advertisements and inserts that are provided along with the newspapers.

3. Section 7 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Producer responsibility organization

7. (1) For the purposes of paragraph 2 of subsection 61 (2) of the Act, the condition that must be met by a person in respect of blue box material is that the person must be a producer responsibility organization.

(2) For the purposes of clause 61 (6) (c) of the Act, the criterion that the person must satisfy is that the person must be a producer responsibility organization or a producer.

(3) For the purposes of clause 62 (1) (d) of the Act, the criterion that must be satisfied by a person is that the person must be a producer responsibility organization or a producer.

4. Part III of the Regulation is revoked.

5. The heading to Part IV of the Regulation is amended by striking out “under allocation table”.

6. Sections 19, 20 and 21 of the Regulation are revoked and the following substituted:

Duty to collect

19. (1) Every producer shall establish and operate a collection system in accordance with this Part.

(2) For the purposes of this section,

(a) one or more producers may satisfy their obligations under subsection (1) through the establishment and operation of a collection system by another person on their behalf;

(b) if a person is establishing and operating a collection system on behalf of a producer, the producer shall ensure that there is a written agreement between the producer and that person with respect to the establishment and operation of the collection system; and

(c) a single collection system may be established and operated on behalf of every producer.

Producer responsibility organizations

19.1 (1) Every producer responsibility organization that has entered into an agreement with a producer to provide collection services under this Part on behalf of a producer shall establish and operate a collection system in accordance with this Part.

(2) In this Part, a reference to a producer includes a producer responsibility organization to which subsection (1) applies.

Exemptions

19.2 Section 19 does not apply to a producer in a calendar year if either of the following circumstances applies in respect of the producer:

1. The establishment and operation of an alternative collection system has been registered for every material category of blue box material for which the producer reported in the previous year an amount under subparagraph 7 iii of subsection 45 (3), paragraph 3 of subsection 50 (3) or paragraph 3 of subsection 51 (1), as applicable, that is greater than the minimum amount set out in section 42 for that material category.

2. The weights reported in the previous year by the producer under subparagraph 7 iii of subsection 45 (3), paragraph 3 of subsection 50 (3) or paragraph 3 of subsection 51 (1), as applicable, for every material category is less than the minimum amount set out in section 42 for each respective material category.

Curbside collection

20. Every producer to whom section 19 applies shall provide curbside collection of blue box material for every residence that is an eligible source that receives curbside garbage collection.

Depot or curbside collection

21. Every producer to whom section 19 applies shall provide either depot collection or curbside collection of blue box material for every residence that is an eligible source that does not receive curbside garbage collection.

7. (1) Section 22 of the Regulation is amended by adding “to whom section 19 applies” after “producer” in the portion before clause (a).

(2) Clause 22 (c) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before subclause (i) and substituting the following:

(c) provide blue box receptacles for the storage of blue box material at the residence until the blue box material is collected and, when it provides such receptacles, shall,

. . . . .

8. (1) Section 23 of the Regulation is amended by adding “to whom section 19 applies” after “producer” in the portion before clause (a).

(2) Clause 23 (a) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “same” and substituting “same as”.

9. Section 24 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Obligations for depot collection

24. A producer to whom section 19 applies who provides depot collection for an eligible source that is a residence shall,

(a) operate at least as many depot collection sites for blue box material as there are depot collection sites for household garbage in the eligible community where the residence is situated;

(b) ensure that the depot collection sites for blue box material have operating hours that are at least as accessible as the hours for depot collection sites for household garbage in the eligible community where the residence is situated;

(c) collect the blue box material deposited at the depot collection site before the blue box receptacles at the depot collection site are full; and

(d) provide blue box receptacles at each depot collection site for the storage of blue box material until it is collected and, when it provides such receptacles, shall,

(i) provide blue box receptacles that are appropriate for the depot collection site, including with respect to size,

(ii) ensure that each depot collection site has a blue box receptacle before the day on which the producer commences operating the site,

(iii) ensure that each depot collection site has blue box receptacles at least one week prior to the date on which the producer is required to provide depot collection in that eligible community, and

(iv) repair or replace any damaged blue box receptacle at the depot collection site upon request by an operator of the site, within one week of the request.

10. Section 25 of the Regulation is amended by adding “to whom section 19 applies” after “producer”

11. Section 26 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Multiple residences

26. For greater certainty, a depot collection site provided under this Part may service one or more residences.

12. Subsection 27 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out the portion before clause (a) and substituting the following:

(1) A producer to whom section 19 applies shall, with respect to every facility that is an eligible source,

. . . . .

13. Section 28 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Obligations for public spaces

28. (1) Commencing January 1, 2026, a producer to whom section 19 applies shall collect blue box material from public spaces in each eligible community in accordance with this section.

(2) In each calendar year, a producer shall provide in each eligible community at least the number of blue box receptacles determined under subsection (3).

(3) Subject to subsection (4), for the purposes of determining the number under subsection (2), the producer shall divide the population of the eligible community by the number set out in Column 2 of the Table to this subsection opposite the applicable description of the population in Column 1 of the Table.

TABLE

Item	Column 1 Population of eligible community	Column 2 Number by which to divide the population
1.	500,000 or more	400
2.	30,000 or more but less than 500,000	600
3.	5,000 or more but less than 30,000	800
4.	Less than 5,000	1,000

 

(4) If the number determined under subsection (3) is less than one, at least one blue box receptacle shall be provided in the eligible community.

14. Subsection 29 (1) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Transition, public spaces

(1) During the transition period, in each eligible community, a producer to whom section 19 applies shall provide blue box receptacles in the same public spaces and in the same quantity as were provided in that eligible community under the WDTA blue box program, as required to be registered under subsection 54 (2).

15. Subsection 30 (1) of the Regulation is amended by adding “to whom section 19 applies” after “A producer” at the beginning.

16. Section 31 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Reserves

31. (1) Every producer responsibility organization described in section 19.1 shall ensure that an offer is made by or on behalf of the producer responsibility organization to a First Nation to provide collection services under this Part from eligible sources in the reserve of the First Nation, if that reserve is an eligible community.

(2) One or more producer responsibility organizations may satisfy their obligation under subsection (1) through an offer made by another person on their behalf.

(3) An offer under subsection (1) shall,

(a) include details of how the collection services will be provided; and

(b) be made to the First Nation through the Registry no later than six months prior to the date when collection services are required to be provided under this Part in that reserve.

(4) Where an offer is made under subsection (3), the Authority shall promptly notify the First Nation of the offer.

(5) The First Nation may accept an offer by registering its acceptance of the offer with the Authority, through the Registry, in accordance with section 60.

(6) Where acceptance of an offer is registered by a First Nation under subsection (5), the Authority shall promptly notify the person who made the offer of the acceptance.

(7) An acceptance of an offer under subsection (5) may be used by producers as consent to collect blue box material from eligible sources in the reserve in accordance with this Regulation.

(8) If an offer is accepted under subsection (5), section 19 applies in respect of the eligible sources in the reserve starting on the later of,

(a) three months from the date the First Nation registered its acceptance of the offer; and

(b) the date the eligible sources in the reserve are eligible to receive collection services under this Part.

(9) Producers shall not provide collection services in a reserve if an offer related to the eligible sources in the reserve or a subsequent offer, where applicable, is not accepted under this section.

(10) A First Nation that has accepted an offer may revoke its acceptance of the offer at any time by registering its revocation with the Authority, through the Registry, in accordance with section 61.

(11) Where revocation of an offer is registered by a First Nation under subsection (10), the Authority shall promptly notify the person who made the offer of the revocation.

(12) If a First Nation has revoked its acceptance of an offer, every producer responsibility organization shall ensure that a subsequent offer is made to the First Nation to collect blue box material from eligible sources in the reserve.

(13) The subsequent offer shall,

(a) be made to the First Nation through the Registry;

(b) include details of how the collection services would resume; and

(c) be made no later than 30 days following the date that the First Nation revoked its acceptance of an offer under subsection (10).

(14) Where a subsequent offer is registered under subsection (13), the Authority shall promptly notify the First Nation of the subsequent offer.

(15) The First Nation may accept a subsequent offer by registering its acceptance of the subsequent offer with the Authority, through the Registry, in accordance with section 62.

(16) Where acceptance of a subsequent offer is registered by a First Nation under subsection (15), the Authority shall promptly notify the person who made the offer of the acceptance.

(17) Where acceptance of a subsequent offer is registered by a First Nation under subsection (15), section 19 applies starting 30 days after the acceptance.

Authority to provide information

31.1 The Authority shall make available to producers to whom section 19 applies such information in its possession as is necessary for compliance with this Part.

17. Clauses 33 (a) and (b) of the Regulation are revoked and the following substituted:

(a) the collection system enabled the producer to collect blue box material for which it is the producer and that is in a material category for which the system is being registered under section 32;

(b) the collection system enabled the producer to meet its management obligations under Part VI for the material categories for which the system is being registered using only blue box material collected under clause (a);

18. Sub-subparagraph 1 ii B of subsection 41 (4) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

B. created from recovered resources that are recovered from paper.

19. Subclause 43 (b) (ii) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(ii) reported the recovered resources to the Authority in the name of a producer responsibility organization and that producer responsibility organization then reported those resources as allocated to the producer through the Registry under paragraph 4 of subsection 52 (1).

20. (1) Subsection 45 (1) of the Regulation is revoked.

(2) Subsection 45 (2) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “after October 1, 2021”.

(3) Subsection 45 (3) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “subsection (1) or (2)” in the portion before paragraph 1 and substituting “subsection (2)”.

(4) Paragraph 3 of subsection 45 (3) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “Subject to subsection (4), the name” at the beginning and substituting “The name”.

(5) Subparagraph 3 v of subsection 45 (3) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “for the entire collection period” at the end.

(6) Subsection 45 (4) of the Regulation is revoked.

21. (1) Subsection 46 (1) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Registration, producer responsibility organizations

(1) A producer responsibility organization shall register by submitting the information in subsection (2) to the Authority, through the Registry, no later than 30 days from the date the producer responsibility organization entered into an agreement with a producer.

(2) Subsection 46 (3) of the Regulation is revoked.

22. Sections 47 and 48 of the Regulation are revoked.

23. The Regulation is amended by adding the following section:

Initial report, producer responsibility organizations

50.1 (1) This section applies to a producer responsibility organization that had, as of April 1, 2022, either on its own or through agreement with another producer responsibility organization, entered into agreements with producers responsible for more than 66 per cent of the aggregate weight of blue box material supplied to consumers in Ontario in 2020, including representation agreements as defined in subsection 1 (1) immediately before this section came into force, as ascertained from the reports made by producers under subparagraph 7 iii of subsection 45 (3).

(2) No later than July 1, 2022, the producer responsibility organization shall submit to the Authority a report setting out the following information:

1. A description of how the producer responsibility organization intends to comply with the requirements of Part IV, including any agreements between the producer responsibility organization and other producer responsibility organizations.

2. A detailed description of how the producer responsibility organization will make collected blue box material available for processing, how it will be processed and where it expects receiving facilities will be located in Ontario.

3. A description of how the producer responsibility organization intends to comply with the requirements of Part VIII.

(3) If two or more producer responsibility organizations have entered into an agreement with each other as described in subsection (1), one producer responsibility organization shall submit a single report on behalf of them for the purposes of this section.

(4) The Authority shall make the report publicly available on the Registry.

24. (1) Paragraph 4 of subsection 51 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “paragraphs” and substituting “paragraph”.

(2) Paragraph 7 of subsection 51 (1) of the Regulation is revoked.

25. Sub-subparagraphs 1 ii B and C of subsection 52 (1) of the Regulation are revoked and the following substituted:

B. In respect of collection services provided for public spaces, the number of blue box receptacles provided by the producer responsibility organization in each eligible community.

26. Subsection 54 (1) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Eligible communities

(1) Where an eligible community is included in the Blue Box Transition Schedule, the applicable local municipality, local services board or First Nation shall submit the information listed in subsection (2) to the Authority, through the Registry, no later than the date specified by the Authority as posted on the Registry.

27. Subsection 55 (1) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Transition

(1) Subject to subsection (1.1), where an eligible community is included in the Blue Box Transition Schedule, the applicable local municipality, local services board or First Nation shall submit the information listed in subsection (2) to the Authority, through the Registry, on or before,

(a) August 31, 2022, in the case of a local municipality, local services board area or reserve that is required to receive collection services pursuant to this Regulation in 2024; or

(b) August 31, 2023, in the case of a local municipality, local services board area or reserve that is required to receive collection services pursuant to this Regulation in 2025.

(1.1) The Authority may specify a later date than the one otherwise required under subsection (1) and post it on the Registry, and where the Authority has done so, the applicable local municipality, local services board or First Nation shall submit the information listed in subsection (2) to the Authority on or before that date.

28. Section 60 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

First Nation accepting

60. Where a First Nation accepts an offer of collection services in accordance with subsection 31 (5), the First Nation shall register its acceptance with the Authority, through the Registry, and identify the person who made the offer.

29. Section 62 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

First Nation, subsequent offer

62. Where a First Nation accepts a subsequent offer of collection services in accordance with subsection 31 (15), the First Nation shall register its acceptance with the Authority, through the Registry, and identify the person who made the offer.

30. Subsection 63 (2) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(2) Registration under this section constitutes consent by the person responsible for the operation of the facility for a producer to whom section 19 applies or a producer responsibility organization described in section 19.1 to collect blue box material in accordance with this Regulation.

31. Paragraph 1 of subsection 67 (2) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “paragraphs 7, 8” and substituting “paragraphs 8”.

32. Subsection 69 (2) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(2) Every producer responsibility organization that has entered into an agreement with a producer to provide promotion and education services under this Part on behalf of a producer shall establish and operate a promotion and education system in accordance with this Part.

(2.1) For greater certainty, one or more producers and producer responsibility organizations may satisfy their obligations under this Part through a promotion and education system provided by another person on their behalf.

33. Paragraph 2 of subsection 72 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “for which the producer has collection responsibilities”.

34. Section 73 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Exemption, small producers

73. Any producer whose revenue in a calendar year in Ontario from products and services is less than $2,000,000 is exempt from the following Parts of this Regulation during the next two calendar years:

1. Part IV.

2. Part VI.

3. Part VII, other than section 66.

4. Part VIII.

Commencement

35. This Regulation comes into force on the day it is filed.

 

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