Ontario’s Hazardous and Special Products Regulation Goes Into Effect Oct. 1

HSP RegulationStarting Oct. 1, 2021, Ontario’s Hazardous and Special Products Regulation  (HSP Regulation) will come into effect. 

The HSP Regulation, published in the Ontario Gazette on July 1 of this year, under the purview of the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016, introduced several changes to the pre-existing Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste Program in Ontario. The new rule: 

  • Requires producers of hazardous and special products, including oil filters and oil containers, to collect, manage and dispose of covered products at the end-of-life. 
  • Compels producers to bear the full financial responsibility for running the program, which is administered by the Resource Productivity & Recovery Authority (RPRA).  

Under the HSP, regulation producers are required to: 

  1. Establish a free collection network for consumers across the province. Larger communities must have access to accessible drop-off locations. More remote areas may use a call-in network through the local municipality or territorial districts. 
  2. Manage all collected materials properly to ensure products are disposed of or recycled. 
  3. Provide promotion and education materials to increase consumer awareness of the program. 
  4. Provide information related to any separate fee charged by the producer or seller in connection to the sale of HSP regarding who imposed the fee and how this fee will be used for resource recovery efforts.
  5. Register with the RPRA to report collection and management outcomes. 
  6. Complete third-party audit of management activities 
  7. Keep records and meet other requirements. 

Under the HSP Regulations, a brand holder who is a resident of Canada serves as the primary responsible party for implementing the program. For brand holders that reside outside of Canada, the responsibility falls to the importer or company that supplies the HSP material to the residents of Ontario. The responsible parties are required to register with the RPRA by Oct. 31 2021. However, for all collection requirements, the promulgation of educational materials and management obligations start on the first of the month.   

Those who want to learn more about this new requirement are encouraged to reach out to AEM’s Jason Malcore at jmalcore@aem.org. 

For more AEM news and updates, subscribe to the AEM Industry Advisor. 

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