Business PickupUpdated: November 1, 2023
Under the Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) Regulation, businesses located in Ontario can add environmental handling fees (EHF) to certain electronic products. The EEE Regulation was established to promote the collection, reuse, refurbishment, or recycling of electronics and reduce their environmental impact. Yet, while EHF fees are meant to help offset the costs of recycling products for businesses, consumers are often confused by the added costs. Here’s what you should know about the current regulation and applicable fees.
How the EEE Regulation Works
As of January 1, 2021, producers of information technology, telecommunications, and audio-visual equipment (ITT/AV) have become individually accountable and financially responsible for the collection, refurbishment, or recycling of their products upon the end of consumers’ use. This also pertains to batteries supplied within the equipment.
Any party is considered a producer under the EEE regulation if they supply ITT/AV equipment in Ontario. The regulation requires them to have a collection site where consumers can drop off equipment free of charge and make efforts to reuse, recycle, or refurbish at least 55% of ITT/AV supplied in Ontario. Producers can either establish their own recycling programs in-house, or partner with an electronics recycling company to help them meet regulatory obligations on their behalf (known as a producer responsibility organization, or PRO). The regulation also allows businesses to pass recycling costs onto their customers, either by incorporating them into the price of their products or as an additional fee.
Which Electronics Are Included?
Individual producer responsibility in Ontario applies to the following equipment:
- Computers
- Printers and cartridges
- Telephones and cell phones
- Display devices, such as computer monitors
- Video gaming devices
- Radios and stereos
- Speakers, audio recording equipment, and headphones
- Drones with audio or visual recording equipment
- Certain IT devices, such as external hard drives
- Handheld point-of-sale devices
- Charging equipment and cables
- Musical instruments
- Audio recording equipment
How Much Can Businesses Charge in Environmental Fees?
As of March 2023, the Resource Productivity & Recovery Authority (RPRA) has ceased enforcement of promotion and education requirements for visible fees on electronics. In other words, it’s up to each business to decide if they’ll charge environmental fees for products, and if so, how much. Businesses aren’t required to disclose how much they’re charging in fees or how the money will be used.
Download your PDF copy of Ontario’s Environmental Handling Fees: What You Need to Know
Batteries, on the other hand, are subject to specific environmental handling fees as regulated by the organization Call2Recycle. While new fees were issued for several provinces in 2023, Ontario fee information has not yet been posted, and residents are encouraged to email customerservice@call2recycle.ca for more information.
With these factors in mind, businesses will want to consider how their fees compare to that of their competitors. For instance, some consumers have been frustrated over charges that vary widely. It’s therefore important to closely analyze your business’s recycling strategy to determine a reasonable fee. Factors such as transportation, processing and repacking, and handling steps such as dismantling, data wiping, and refurbishing will need to be assessed and built into the cost of the product or added as a separate fee. To promote transparency, producers might also post updates regarding EHFs or price increases so shoppers know what to expect.
Quantum offers a range of solutions for producers, including reuse and recycling programs with transparent pricing, to help you determine what fees, if any, to pass along to your customers. Find out more about our options for handling end-of-life electronics here.