In 2008, Ontario established a Municipal Hazardous and Special Waste (MHSW) program to ensure materials, such as paints, solvents, pressurized containers, oil filters and more, are being properly collected and managed. This program is currently run by Stewardship Ontario (SO) with a shared funding model between producers and municipalities.
As of September 30, 2021, the SO program will wind up and the program will transition to an individual producer responsibility (IPR) regime where producers will take on full responsibility for program funding and the collection and management of products.
On behalf of members, RCC prepared a submission and consulted with government on the draft Hazardous and Special Products (HSP) Regulation. As of June 8, 2021, the final regulation was released and will come into effect on October 1, 2021. The Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA) will oversee and enforce the new regulatory requirements.
To help members better understand the timeline and regulatory obligations, we have divided the final regulation into the following sections. Please let us know if you have any questions.
MHSW Program Wind-Up – The existing MHSW program will wind-up on September 30, 2021
Registration – Producers need to register with RPRA on or before October 31, 2021 (see Part VIII, Section 38 of the regulation)
Collection Systems – The date collection systems need to be established varies depending on the material category:
| Categories: C (barometers, thermometers, thermostats) E (refillable propane containers) | October 1, 2021 |
| Categories: A (non-refillable pressurized containers, oil filters) B (antifreeze, oil containers, paints and coatings, pesticides, solvents, refillable pressurized containers) | Transitional Period Collection System – Between October 1, 2021 – December 31, 2022 – During the transition period, producers will need at least as many collection sites as the previous MHSW program and make reasonable efforts to hold as many collection events as in 2020 (see Part III, Section 7 of the regulation). Additional collection requirements for Categories A & B will then need to be implemented as of January 1, 2023. |
Interim 2022 report for Categories A, B, C – On or before January 31, 2022
First supply report for Categories A, B – On or before July 31, 2022 (for producers who registered on or before October 31, 2021)
The draft regulation divides up designated materials into five categories (A, B, C, D, E) to reflect different regulatory requirements. In comparison to the draft regulation, Category E is new.
| Category | Products/materials |
| A | Non-refillable pressurized containers, oil filters |
| B | Antifreeze, oil containers, paints and coatings, pesticides, solvents, refillable pressurized containers* |
| C | Barometers, thermometers, thermostats |
| D | Fertilizers |
| E | Refillable propane containers* |
*Products are obligated if their water capacity is 109L or less
Category B refillable pressurized containers – does not include fire extinguishers, aerosol containers, reservoir tanks intended for air compressors, a cylinder that must be punctured for use, refillable propane containers (RPCs are captured under category E)
Similar to the recent batteries and EEE regulations, there is a producer hierarchy:
| Material category | Producer hierarchy |
| A (non-refillable pressurized containers, oil filters) B (antifreeze, oil containers, paints and coatings, pesticides, etc.) E (refillable propane containers) | 1. Brand holder – resident in Canada 2. First importer – resident in Ontario 3. First marketer – resident in Ontario 4. Marketer (if no resident in Ontario) |
| C (barometers, thermometers, thermostats) | 1. All brand holders – resident in Canada 2. If there are one or more brand holders (resident in Canada) of a marketed product in Ontario that is similar but does not contain mercury, all of those brand holders are obligated |
| D (fertilizers) | 1. Brand holder – resident in Canada |
Obligations can be passed up or down the hierarchy if there is a written agreement between a producer and a volunteer organization.
“Volunteer organization” means a person who owns a brand that is used in respect of a type of HSP and is not resident in Canada. While this provides producers with flexibility to meet obligations, the legal liability still remains with the first producer under the hierarchy.
- Obligated producers cannot delegate registration obligations
To help reduce administrative burden and cost for small producers, the regulation includes a small producer exemption (also known as a de minimis threshold).
If a producer supplies less than or equal to the following product weights into the Ontario market in the previous calendar year, they are exempt from the following sections:
- IV – Collection
- VI – Management
- VII – Promotion & Education
Producers are still required to register, report, keep records, etc.
| Category | Products/materials (average weight of supply in previous calendar year) |
| A | Non-refillable pressurized containers: 3 tonnes Oil filters: 3.5 tonnes |
| B | Antifreeze (including factory-fill antifreeze): 20 tonnes Paints and coatings: 10 tonnes Pesticides: 1 tonne Solvents: 3 tonnes Oil containers: 2 tonnes Refillable pressurized containers: 8 tonnes |
See Section 6 of the regulation for more information.
The regulation includes management requirements for Category A only
- A producer’s management requirements can be calculated by multiplying the producer’s average weight of supply in the previous year by the following percentages:
| Type | 2022 | 2023 / 2024 | 2025 onwards |
| Oil filters | 85% | 85% | 85% |
| Non-refillable pressurized containers | 20% | 25% | 30% |
See Part VI of the regulation for more information.
Producers are required to establish and operate collection systems for each of the following product types.
There are different collection requirements for large producers and small producers based on a producer’s average weight of supply in the previous calendar year. A producer’s collection requirements can depend on a municipality’s population, number of retail locations, distance, and more.
| Type | Large producer’s average weight of supply (tonnes) | Small producer’s average weight of supply (tonnes) |
| Antifreeze | 300 or more | Greater than 20 and less than 300 |
| Non-refillable pressurized containers | 100 or more | Greater than 3 and less than 100 |
| Oil containers | 55 or more | Greater than 2 and less than 55 |
| Oil filters | 100 or more | Greater than 3.5 and less than 100 |
| Paints and coatings | 1,000 or more | Greater than 10 and less than 1,000 |
| Pesticides | 9 or more | Greater than 1 and less than 9 |
| Refillable pressurized containers | 100 or more | Greater than 8 and less than 100 |
| Solvents | 70 or more | Greater than 3 and less than 70 |
There are also ways to reduce collection site requirements by providing curbside pick-up/call in services. Producers also have the ability to use alternative collection site locations if they are in the same upper tier municipality. Some restrictions apply.
See Part IV of the regulation for more information.
| Dates | Reporting requirements |
| On or before January 31, 2022 | Interim 2022 report for Categories A, B, C How the producer is fulfilling or planning to fulfill regulatory responsibilities for each applicable type of HSP, including a list of all collection services (sites, events, etc.) and more. – See Section 44 of the regulation. |
| On or before July 31, 2022 (for producers who registered on or before October 31, 2021) – For new companies that have entered the market, on or before July 31 in the year immediately following the year the producer was required to register | First supply report for Categories A, B Total weight of that type of HSP supplied to consumers in Ontario in the year in which the registration was required. – See Section 45 of the regulation. |
| On or before July 31 of each year (starting 2 years after a producer is required to register) | Annual reporting requirements for Categories A, B, C, D |
Reports can be submitted by a 3rd party if a producer has entered into a written agreement (e.g., volunteer organization)
Record keeping – Every producer, volunteer organization, PRO, etc. needs to keep applicable records in paper or electronic format (that can be examined/accessed in Ontario) for a period of five years from the date of creation.
See Part IX of the regulation for more information.
There are audit requirements for product categories A, B and C with the same auditing timeline, as follows:
- Audits to be undertaken on or before July 31, 2023 if the producer had responsibilities between October 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022; and
- On or before July 31, 2026 and on or before July 31 in every third calendar year following that if the producer has management requirements during any of the three immediately preceding calendar years.
See Section 57 of the regulation for more information.
There are P&E requirements for categories: A (except refillable pressurized containers), B, C and D.
PROs will be able to help with P&E requirements.
Information must be provided on a website including:
- Location of collection sites/types of HSP that are accepted
- How the producer manages that type of HSP after collection
- Presence of mercury/hazards to human health and the environment for Category C products
- Etc.
See Part VII of the regulation for more information.
If there is a separate charge (i.e., visible fee) on an advertisement, invoice, receipt or similar record in connection with the supply of HSP that relates to resource recovery or waste reduction, producers must provide information (as part of P&E) at the time the charge is identified and in the same manner in which the charge is communicated on:
1. The person responsible for imposing the charge.
2. How the charge will be used to collect, reduce, reuse, recycle and recover HSP.
See section 37 of the regulation for more information.