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EPR REPORT CARD 2011
7
were implemented in 2010. The government rescinded producers’ obligations for Phases 2 and
3 MHSW materials in October 2010, leaving responsibility with municipalities but providing
partial provincial funding.
Targets, performance measures and reporting protocols are developed by the IFOs in coop-
eration with WDO. WDO works with the IFOs to develop standardized reporting and auditing
protocols and monitors performance through ongoing reports. Only annual reports for each
program are made public. There is no consequence for not achieving targets.
A review of the Act was undertaken between 2008 and 2010. A summary of deficiencies
and a list of recommendations for improvements were developed during the Act review but the
province has not yet moved forward with those recommendations.
Early in 2012, the minister modified WDO’s governance structure from a representational
to an unaligned board, filed a regulation stipulating the manner by which the MHSW program
is to recover costs from producers and directed WDO to apply this same procedure to the Used
Tires and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) programs.
Quebec
In July 2011, Quebec adopted a regulatory framework for EPR under its Politique québécoise
de gestion des matières résiduelles and has confirmed its commitment to meet the CCME’s
goals for EPR. The regulatory framework supports the established EPR programs for paint and
used oil and has been used to designate electronics, batteries, antifreeze and mercury-contain-
ing lamps. EPR programs for these products are scheduled to commence in 2012.
The regulatory framework obligates producers to contribute to municipal costs for the
established packaging and printed paper program under a partial EPR model. The producer
portion is gradually escalating from 50% in 2010 to 100% of defined net costs in 2013.
There are no regulations in place yet, but discussions are underway to transition the cur-
rent tire stewardship program which is operated by the provincial agency, Recyc-Quebec,
to a producer responsibility program. As well, EPR for household hazardous waste is under
consideration.
Quebec has shown leadership in adopting the concept of cost internalization for its EPR
programs. The Eco-Peinture program has operated since its inception with no visible fees added
at the point of purchase and a similar approach has been adopted for all other EPR programs
under the 2011 regulatory framework. Producers are allowed to inform consumers that the
costs of end-of-life management are included in the product price and visible fees are allowed if
the producer applies a visible fee at the beginning of the supply chain.
The government has set program targets for collection and recycling and requires indepen-
dent auditing and reporting. For some programs, financial penalties apply for failure to meet
performance targets.
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