Producer responsibility for Ontario’s waste diversion programs
Ontario is making producers responsible for managing the waste generated from their products and packaging to promote innovation, reduce waste and lower costs for taxpayers.
Overview
Our Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan commits to moving Ontario’s existing waste diversion programs to a producer responsibility model. This means producers (the companies that design, create and market products and packaging) will be responsible for managing and paying for the full life-cycle of their products to make recycling easier and more accessible across the province.
Benefits of producer responsibility
Producer responsibility is the most effective and accountable way to:
- promote waste diversion
- align costs of managing products and packaging at their end-of-life
- save taxpayers money
- give producers incentive to redesign products and make them easier to recycle
Ontario will continue to ensure that during program transitions to producer responsibility, there will be no disruption to public services.
Transition timelines
Ontario’s existing waste diversion programs are transitioning to a producer responsibility model. To ensure a seamless transition, regulations that make producers fully responsible for the materials managed under these programs will come into effect the same day each of the current programs end. These programs include:
- Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste Program recycles or properly disposes of paint, antifreeze, batteries, fertilizers and other hazardous or special materials. Battery materials will transition to the producer responsibility model on July 1, 2020 and the remaining program materials will transition on September 30, 2021.
- Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Program reuses or recycles electronic equipment like computers, televisions and stereos. It will transition to the producer responsibility model on January 1, 2021.
- Blue Box Program recycles printed paper and packaging (plastics, paper, glass, aluminum, steel). The first group of municipalities or First Nations will transfer responsibility of their Blue Box programs to producers on July 1, 2023. By December 31, 2025, producers will be fully responsible for providing Blue Box services provincewide.
- The Ontario Deposit Return Program for beverage and alcohol containers.
- The Used Tires Program ceased operation on December 31, 2018. It has been replaced by the Tire Collection Network a new regulatory framework, which makes tire producers responsible for creating an accessible, convenient and free tire collection network across the province.