Obligated Producers
Information for those who sell, distrubute, manufacture or import designated electronic products in or into British Columbia.
The Government of British Columbia has issued the Recycling Regulation under the Environmental Management Act, (the “Regulation”). The regulation states that if you fall under these terms stated by the Regulation you are required to be part of a Stewardship Plan:
i) If you manufacture electronic products and sell, offer to sell, or distribute the product in British Columbia under the manufacturer’s own brand you are obligated, or;
ii) If you are a person who is not the manufacturer of the electronic product but is the owner or licensee of a trademark under which an electronic product is sold or distributed in British Columbia, whether or not the trademark is registered you are also obligated, or;
iii) If you import electronics into British Columbia for sale or distribution you are obligated.
The Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA) is comprised of major producers and retailers of electronics in BC. EPRA is responsible to their membership for implementing and operating an environmentally and socially responsible program for handling electronic waste in accordance with the requirements of their stewardship plan. Materials are processed and recycled in a responsible manner that safeguards the environment and worker health & safety as well as preventing illegal export to developing countries.
The program is funded by an Environmental Handling Fee (EHF) that is remitted to EPRA on the sale of designated products in, or into, the province. Consumers pay the designated EHF at the time of purchase. The fee will only be paid once in the supply chain.
EPRA has contracted Encorp Pacific (Canada), under the Return-ItTM brand, to manage certain operations with respect to the Stewardship plan. Encorp is a federal, not-for-profit organization with 17 years experience managing Beverage Container Recycling Stewardship Plan.