Bill 126, Electronic Waste Producer Responsibility Act, 2003

Versions

Bill 126 2003

An Act to ensure
that the producers of
electronic equipment
retain responsibility
when their products
become waste

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Definitions

1. In this Act,

"approved plan" means the plan for producer-financed collection, recovery and recycling of electronic waste that has been approved by the Minister under section 2; ("plan approuvé")

"electronic equipment" means equipment that is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly or that contains one or more printed circuit boards, and includes, without being limited to, telecommunications equipment, including telephones, cellular phones, facsimile machines and answering machines and video and stereo equipment; ("matériel électronique")

"electronic waste" means electronic equipment that enters the solid waste collection, recovery, treatment, processing or recycling system; ("déchets électroniques")

"historic waste" means electronic equipment, the producer of which is still in business, that became electronic waste prior to the day this Act comes into force; ("déchets du passé")

"Minister" means the Minister of the Environment; ("ministre")

"orphaned waste" means electronic waste manufactured by or bearing the brand name of a company that is no longer in business on the day this Act comes into force; ("déchets orphelins")

"producer" means any person that,

(a) manufactures and sells electronic equipment under its own brand in Ontario,

(b) resells in Ontario, under its own brand, electronic equipment produced by other manufacturers, or

"program" means a program required by subsection 3 (1); ("programme")

"recycling" means the reprocessing of waste materials for the original purpose of the material or for other purposes, but not for the purpose of energy recovery or energy generation by means of combusting electronic waste; ("recyclage")

"reuse" means any operation by which electronic waste or components of electronic waste are used for the same purpose for which they were conceived, including the continued use of the equipment or components of the equipment that are returned to collection points, recyclers or producers. ("réutilisation")

Submission of plan

2. (1) Within six months of the coming into force of this Act, or, in the case of a producer that becomes a producer after the coming into force of this Act, within six months of becoming a producer, each producer shall submit to the Minister a plan for producer-financed collection, recovery and recycling of electronic waste.

Review and approval of plan

(2) After review of a plan, the Minister may,

(a) approve the plan;

(b) approve the plan subject to any modifications the Minister considers desirable in the public interest; or

If plan rejected

(3) If a plan is rejected, or if the producer does not accept any modifications made under clause (2) (b), the producer may submit a new plan, and subsection (2) applies to that plan.

Requirements for approval

(4) In order to be approved by the Minister, a plan must contain at least the following elements:

1. A strategy for financing the collection, treatment, recovery, reuse and disposition of all electronic equipment sold by that producer in Ontario.

2. A strategy for financing the producer's share of orphaned waste and historic waste in Ontario.

3. A strategy for meeting the requirements under sections 5 and 6 that are necessary to ensure the protection of electronic users and electronic waste processors and recyclers and to ensure consumer participation in the producer's product recovery program.

4. A strategy for meeting the product recovery and materials reuse and recycling rates under section 7.

5. A description of the performance measures to be used and reported by the producer to the department to demonstrate that the recovery system is meeting reuse and recycling rates.

6. A prohibition on the export of electronic waste to countries that are not members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development or a successor organization.

Financial responsibility of producers

Product recovery program

3. (1) Within 24 months of the coming into force of this Act, or, in the case of a producer that becomes a producer after the coming into force of this Act, within 24 months of becoming a producer, each producer shall implement a program in accordance with its approved plan for ensuring the environmentally sound collection, treatment, recovery and final disposition of electronic waste.

Financing for orphaned waste and historic waste

(2) The responsibility for financing the management of orphaned waste and historic waste equipment shall be shared proportionally to each producer's respective share of the market, by product type, at the time waste costs are incurred, as determined by the Minister from time to time.

Consumers and equipment end users

(3) Consumers and equipment end users may be responsible for delivering electronic waste into the solid waste collection system, as may be provided for in the approved plan, but consumers must be able to return electronic waste to the producer free of charge.

Ban on incineration and landfilling of electronic waste

4. No one shall dispose of electronic waste in,

(a) a landfill; or

(b) an incinerator, cement kiln or other method of energy recovery or energy generation dependent on combustion of waste.

Labelling

5. Within 12 months of the coming into force of this Act, or, in the case of a producer that becomes a producer after the coming into force of this Act, within 12 months of becoming a producer, every producer selling electronic equipment in Ontario shall ensure the electronic equipment is clearly marked and labelled, or that informational materials are provided with the electronic equipment, with information relating to the following:

1. The hazardous materials contained in the electronic equipment and the parts or subunits containing the particular substances.

2. The requirement not to dispose of electronic equipment in landfills, incinerators or any other means not approved as part of the plan.

3. A toll-free phone number or publicly accessible site on the Internet where consumers can obtain information and instructions about the safe disposition of the electronic product through the plan.

Consumer education

6. Every producer shall take appropriate steps to implement a consumer education plan that is designed to ensure that consumers and users of electronic equipment understand the following:

1. The prohibition on disposal of electronic waste by any means not included as part of the plan.

2. The electronic waste return and collection systems available to them.

3. The potential effects on the environment and human health as a result of the presence of hazardous substances contained in electronic equipment and the dangers of improper disposal.

4. The consumers' and users' roles in contributing to the reuse, recycling and other forms of electronic waste recovery.

Electronic waste generated after program
implementation

7. For electronic waste generated after the implementation of its program, each producer shall demonstrate to the Minister,

(a) within two years of the implementation of the program, electronic waste recovery equal to 75 per cent of the producer's products sold in Ontario and 65 per cent reuse or recycling of the components and materials contained in the producer's products; and

(b) within five years of the implementation of the program, electronic waste recovery equal to 90 per cent of the producer's products sold in Ontario and 95 per cent reuse or recycling of the components and materials contained in the producer's products.

Government procurement and purchasing

8. Within six months following the coming into force of this Act, the Government of Ontario and each of its departments and agencies shall establish purchasing and procurement policies requiring producers of electronic equipment sold to the Government or department or agency to take back electronic waste.

Reporting

9. (1) Every producer shall submit annually to the Minister a report detailing performance of a producer's program, and detailing compliance with all the requirements of this Act.

Review by Minister

(2) The Minister shall review a report within six months of its submission and provide notice of any deficiency or noncompliance to the producer within three months of completing the review.

Public availability of reports

(3) A producer shall make an annual report required under this section available to the public through the Internet.

Offences

10. (1) Every producer that fails to comply with an obligation under this Act is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $1,000,000.

Same

(2) Every person who fails to comply with section 4 is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable,

(a) in the case of an individual, to a fine of not more than $50,000; or

(b) in the case of a corporation, to a fine of not more than $1,000,000.

Prohibition order

(3) Where a producer is convicted under subsection (1), the Superior Court of Ontario, on an application by the Attorney General, may make an order prohibiting the producer from selling electronic equipment in Ontario.

Commencement

11. This Act comes into force one year after the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title

12. The short title of this Act is the Electronic Waste Producer Responsibility Act, 2003.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill requires producers of electronic equipment to implement a program for ensuring the environmentally sound collection, treatment, recovery and final disposition of discarded and obsolete electronic equipment. Landfilling and incineration of electronic waste are prohibited.