UPDATE – ON: CPA member advisory upcoming consultation on hazardous and special products fees

On June 8, 2021, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks filed the final Hazardous and Special Products (HSP) regulation (O. Reg.449/21), under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act.

The difference between this final regulation and the proposed regulation posted in February 2021 is significant for CPA members. The regulation tabled in June 2021 establishes a new Category E, which consists only of refillable propane cylinders, and no longer exempts them. The CPA is actively engaged to have this new category suspended before the regulation comes into force.

However, in the meantime, the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA) stakeholder consultations are scheduled on July 7 and 8, 2021.  

Members may access the Authority's presentation here. The RPRA’s proposed $7,500 flat fee for refillable propane cylinders is outlined on slide 17 of this presentation. To register for the consultations, click here. 

Producers or first importers of refillable propane containers will be required to:

1. Register with the Authority – pay a proposed $7,500 fee and provide contact information.
2. Identify a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) who will respond to Call-In from landfills in order to respond to collect any stray cylinders that have been collected by municipalities.
3. Collect all hazardous and special products within three months of notification in the south, and one year in the far north of the province.  

Haulers, processors, and disposal facilities must also register (without fees) with the Authority and report on all of the prescribed information including weights, disposal modes, etc., of any cylinders they may collect from the municipalities.

Key dates for refillable propane cylinder stewards are:

• Processors and haulers of hazardous and special products, as well as disposal facilities, are required to register with the Authority by July 31, 2021.
• Producers of hazardous and special products are required to register with the Authority by October 31, 2021.
• Collection requirements apply starting on October 1, 2021.

A meeting with the Authority and the CPA was held on June 24, 2021. The CPA pressed the regulator to ensure call in collection requirements are triggered only when a location has a sufficient number of cylinders to make collection viable for the collection entity. The Authority agreed to consult with industry on the number that would trigger this requirement.

For more information, please contact Ontario Government Relations Director Marcelline Riddell at marcellineriddell@propane.ca.