5. Fees
As of January 1, 2023, RPRA is authorized under section 41 of the RRCEA to set and collect fees respecting the subject waste program.
Generators of subject waste are required to pay any applicable subject waste fees required to be paid by RPRA. RPRA must set the fees in accordance with Ontario Regulation 323/22. Please see RPRA’s Hazardous Waste Program Registry webpage for further information on fees and how they are calculated.
5.1. Fee exemptions
As per Ontario Regulation 323/22, some generators are not required to pay subject waste fees. This section of the manual explains the three circumstances in which tonnage fees cannot be collected by RPRA in relation to the subject waste program:
- the subject waste is not hazardous waste
- Tonnage Fee Exempt Recycling Facilities Directory
- previous payment or exemption
5.1.1 The subject waste is not hazardous waste
If the subject waste is liquid industrial waste or waste described in clause (b.1) of the definition of “subject waste” in the regulation, no fees based on tonnage (weight, mass, volume or other quantity-based measure) of the waste can be applied to the waste.
5.1.2 Previous payment or exemption
No tonnage fees may be collected in respect of the waste where a generator has already paid, or is exempt from paying, tonnage fees for that waste. This also applies to hazardous waste from which the hazardous waste was derived. For example, no tonnage fee may be collected relating to waste that has been received at a transfer station in Ontario that is then shipped out from that transfer station because a tonnage fee would have already been paid previously for that waste. In contrast, tonnage fees could be collected respecting waste being shipped to Ontario from a transfer station in another jurisdiction.
5.1.3 Waste generation facility exemptions
Some generators are exempt from subject waste fees:
- waste generation facilities that have been acknowledged as MHSW (formerly HHW) facilities in Ontario, where the subject waste is only generated as a result of the collection of hazardous and special waste from the general public and is not treated or disposed of at the site (see MHSW Depots for more information)
- waste generation facilities that have been acknowledged as contaminated sites located in Ontario, where subject waste generated is a result of site remediation activities. (See: Contaminated Site Remediation for more information)
- the subject waste is generated as a result of a spill, process aberration or upset or the circumstances described in section 22(2) of Regulation 347, the generator requires a registration number to comply with the Regulation, and, the generator has notified the Ministry and the Spills Action Centre and has been provided a generator registration number
5.2 Tonnage fee exempt recycling facilities directory (see section 2 of O. Reg. 323/22)
The Tonnage Fee Exempt Recycling Facilities Directory includes facilities that process wastes to recover some portion of the material. The activities carried on at these facilities do not meet the requirements of section 3 of Regulation 347 for an exemption from Part V of the EPA, but the Ministry considers the material recovery that takes place at these recycling facilities to be beneficial. See Ontario Regulation 323/22 for more information on how facilities can be added to the Directory.
In order for one of these facilities to be added to the Directory in respect of a waste class, they must receive the relevant subject wastes from a registered generator. The facilities that receive the wastes must have a waste ECA (inside Ontario) or other permit (outside Ontario) issued by the environmental regulator in the host jurisdiction to carry on their operation. In the U.S., if the facility is operating under an exemption to the requirement to get a permit the facility should provide a letter from the applicable regulatory body indicating that the facility is exempt from the permit requirement.
A person who operates a facility that receives and processes hazardous waste to create a new product may submit a written request to the Director for the facility to be added to the Tonnage Fee Exempt Recycling Facilities Directory.
The Tonnage Fee Exempt Recycling Facilities Directory is posted on the Registry, and the exemption from the tonnage fees is applicable to the acceptable waste classes from the time of posting.
In order for a facility to be added to the Directory, the Director must be satisfied of the following upon receiving the written request (see subsection 2 (6) of O. Reg. 323/22):
- the hazardous waste will be transferred by a generator for direct transport to the facility
- the hazardous waste will be accepted at the facility for the primary purpose of reusing, recycling or reclaiming the waste through a manufacturing process or operation
- the hazardous waste will be used as feedstock in the manufacturing process or operation
- the process or operation will not involve combustion or land application of the hazardous waste or use of the hazardous waste as fuel or fuel supplement
- there is a demonstrated market demand for the product to be created by the manufacturing process or operation
- the product to be created by the manufacturing process or operation does not pose a substantial hazard to human health or the environment when used as intended
The Director’s determination of whether there is a primary purpose of reuse, recycling or reclamation is either based on whether the waste is being processed to recover a usable material or that it is being regenerated. Some examples of recycled waste include:
- the recovery of metal from hazardous wastes such as spent batteries, photographic wastes, spent catalysts and PCB-contaminated electrical equipment
- the regeneration of spent solvents
- the re-refining of used oil
A numerical recovery target is not used as an indicator of recycling, since the number, which depends on the type of waste and the recycling process being used, could vary significantly. Previous manifest data (waste type and quantities received, waste types and quantities shipped out), however, are tabulated and reviewed.
The written request to the Director must include the following information:
- the name and location of the facility, including the name and contact information of the person who can speak to the operations at the facility
- a description of the waste and the waste number that has been used in manifesting the waste
- a copy of the Safety Data Sheet, if available
- information respecting any other waste received at the facility, including a description of each waste
- a copy of all environmental compliance approvals in respect of the facility, or, in the case of a facility outside of Ontario, all similar instruments from the applicable jurisdiction
- the name and contact information of the environmental regulatory agency in the jurisdiction (if the facility is located outside Ontario)
- information describing the manufacturing process or operation in which the hazardous waste will be used, including the quantities of product that will be created
- information outlining a demonstrated market demand for the product, and
- documentation indicating the product created does not pose a substantial hazard to human health or the environment when used as intended
- this could include documentation indicating that the product meets any established relevant technical specifications/standards that are used for virgin material with the same purpose or that the product does not exhibit any additional hazardous characteristic(s) that equivalent products do not exhibit
Please note that the listing of a facility in the Directory does not result in exemptions from any other requirements related to recycling (for example, these facilities are not exempt from Part V of the EPA and Regulation 347 under section 3 of Regulation 347).
5.3 Payment and refund of fees imposed before January 1, 2023
Prior to January 1, 2023, Fees were calculated by adding three components together:
- a $50 (initial or annual) base fee component (this is called the "base fee component" or "base fee")
- a fee of $5 per manifest used during the calendar year in which the most recent GRR is submitted (this is called the "manifest component")
- a fee of $30 per tonne of hazardous waste generated (this is called the "tonnage component")
Any fees that were calculated based on reported activities that occurred prior to January 1, 2023 remain payable and due to the Minister of Finance.
Refunds of fees paid for activities that occurred before January 1, 2023 in an HWIN account are available under the following circumstances:
- funds remaining in an HWIN account when the account is being closed
- multiple payments deducted from an HWIN account for a single transaction
- if an overpayment occurred because the amount of hazardous waste actually disposed of in the previous year was less than the amount used to calculate the fee submitted
- prepaid account balances that remain after all activities from prior to January 1, 2023 have been reported and fees paid
Requests for refunds must be submitted by an authorized person listed in the HWIN registration. (ie. Company Official and Additional HWIN Administrators)
Generators must submit the following information in writing:
- name of requestor (must be listed on the HWIN registration)
- generator number
- company name
- Canada Revenue Agency business number
- company mailing address
- reason for the refund request
- amount to be refunded
- statement confirming that 2022 and earlier manifests are all reflected in the HWIN account(s) and all outstanding fees are fully paid
Please note that it may take approximately 6 weeks to issue a refund cheque. Cheques will be made payable to the registered company. Direct-to-Credit Card refunds can only be completed for the full amount of the original transaction — partial refunds are not possible.
Requests can be submitted via the following methods:
By visiting Hazardous Waste Information Network and following instructions in the refund policy link
By email:
HazardousWasteProgram@ontario.ca
By mail:
Environmental Monitoring & Reporting Branch, Area "M"
Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
135 St. Clair Avenue West
Toronto ON M4V 1P5