This consolidation is unofficial and is for reference only.

For the official version of the regulations, consult the original documents on file with the Office of the Registrar of Regulations , or refer to the Royal Gazette

Part II .

Regulations are amended frequently.

Please check the list of Regulations by Act to see if there are any recent amendments to these regulations filed with our office that are not yet included in this consolidation.

Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this electronic version, the Office of the Registrar of Regulations assumes no responsibility for any discrepancies that may have resulted from reformatting.

This electronic version is copyright ©

, Province of Nova Scotia , all rights reserved. It is for your personal use and may not be copied for the purposes of resale in this or any other form.

Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging, Paper Products and Packaging-Like

Products Regulations

made under

Section 102 of the

Environment Act

S.N.S. 1994-95, c. 1

O.I.C. 2023-209 (effective August 1, 2023), N.S. Reg. 139/2023

Table of Contents

Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.

Click here to go to the text of the regulations .

Citation

Definitions

Part I: Application and Exemptions

Application

Administrator

Implementation date

Exemptions

Part II: Designated Material, Producer Determination, Readiness Report and Administrator

Designated material

Producer determination

Readiness report

Duties of Administrator

Identification of Administrator

Operating agreement

Annual action plan and annual report

Cost recovery

Part III: Registry and Registration

Registry

Registration requirement for municipalities

Registration requirements for producers

Registration requirements for processors

Registration requirement for producer responsibility organization

Change in information

Part IV: Duty to Collect

Collection system

Duty to collect

Requirement for curbside or depot collection for residential premises

Requirement for collection at facilities

First Nations collection

Part V: Material Management

Material categories

Material management requirements

Part VI: Auditing, Reporting and Record Keeping

Initial producer reporting requirements

Annual reporting by producer

Annual reporting by processors

Records

Small producers

Audit of producer’s practices and procedures

Part VII: Promotion and Education

Producer promotion and education requirements

Information on common collection system

Forms of promotion

Citation

1 These regulations may be cited as the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging,

Paper Products and Packaging-Like Products Regulations .

Definitions

2 In these regulations,

“Act” means the Environment Act ;

“Administrator” means a person appointed by the Minister under

Section 4 and

includes an acting Administrator;

“beneficial reuse” means reclaiming a material to act as a substitute material in

another use because the material cannot be reclaimed to displace the primary or

raw material from which it was produced and is practically unrecoverable for the

original purpose for which it was created;

“collection system” means a system used to collect designated material from an

eligible source;

“common collection system” means a collection system operated by a producer or

producer responsibility organization that accepts designated material;

“consumer” means an individual in the Province who is an end user of a product

and its packaging and who obtained the product and its packaging for personal,

family or household purposes;

“convenience packaging” means material used in addition to primary packaging to

facilitate an end user’s handling or transportation of 1 or more products and

includes items such as bags and boxes that are supplied to an end user at checkout,

whether or not there is a fee for these items;

“eligible source” means a residential premises and a facility;

“energy recovery” means extracting or producing energy, including fuels, from

source-separated packaging, paper products and packaging-like products, but does

not include incineration;

“facility” means any of the following:

(

i) a building or part of a building in which residential accommodation

is provided or made available and contains multiple self-contained

residential units, including an apartment building and a

condominium, but does not include visitor accommodations,

(ii) a public school or private school as defined in the Education Act ;

“First Nation” means a council of the band as defined in the Indian Act (Canada);

“flexible plastic” means unmoulded plastic, such as a plastic bag, plastic film,

plastic wrap, a plastic pouch or plastic laminate;

“implementation date” means the date prescribed in

Section 5;

“material management requirement” means the minimum material requirements

that a producer must meet under

Section 27 and in accordance with the Standard;

“municipality” means a city, an incorporated town, a municipality of a county or

district or a regional municipality;

“operating agreement” means the agreement between the Administrator and the

Minister required under subsection 12(1);

“packaging” means primary packaging, convenience packaging or transport

packaging that is provided with a product and includes an ancillary product that is

integrated into the packaging;

“packaging-like product” means a product that is ordinarily used for the protection,

containment, handling, delivery, presentation or transportation of a commodity or

product and includes items such as aluminum foil, metal trays, plastic film, plastic

wrap, food containers, wrapping paper, paper bags, beverage cups, plastic bags,

cardboard boxes and envelopes;

“packaging, paper products and packaging-like products” or “PPP” means

packaging, paper products and packaging-like products primarily made from paper,

glass, metal or plastic or a combination of these materials, but does not include any

of the following materials:

(

i) a material included in the existing industry stewardship program

under

Part II of the Solid Waste-Resource Management Regulations

made under the Act,

(ii) packaging designed to contain pressurized gas or a hazardous

product,

(iii) a product designed for the containment of waste,

(iv) a health, hygiene or safety product that by virtue of its anticipated use

becomes unsafe or unsanitary to recycle,

(

v) packaging designed and used to contain or transport refillable beer

containers, provided the producer meets the management

requirements of the designated material as defined in

Part V;

“paper product” means paper that is used for printing, copying, writing or any other

general use, such as for a newspaper, magazine, promotional material, directory or

catalogue, but does not include any of the following:

(

i) a hard- or soft-covered book,

(ii) a reference or literary book or a textbook,

(iii) a hard-covered periodical,

(iv) paper that is not suitable to be recycled because it is, or could

become, unsafe or unsanitary by virtue of its anticipated use;

“primary packaging” means material that is used to contain, protect, handle, deliver

or present a product that is provided with the product to an end user at the point of

sale and includes packaging designed to group 1 or more products for the purposes

of sale, but does not include convenience packaging or transport packaging;

“processor” means a person who processes, for the purpose of resource recovery,

PPP that was supplied to a consumer;

“producer” means a person determined to be a producer in accordance with

Section 8;

“producer responsibility organization” means a person who has entered into an

agreement with 1 or more producers for the purposes of carrying out 1 or more of

the following responsibilities related to the designated material, but does not

include a processor retained solely for the purpose of processing the designated

material:

(

i) arranging, establishing or operating a common collection system,

(ii) arranging, establishing or operating a promotion and education

program,

(iii) preparing and submitting a report,

(iv) representing a producer for another purpose related to these

regulations;

“readiness report” means a report submitted by a producer under

Section 9;

“registry” means the registry described in

Section 15;

“residential premises” means a house, town home and other self-contained

premises used by a person for residential purposes and a seasonal dwelling and

campground, but does not include visitor accommodations;

“retailer” means a person who supplies packaging, paper products or

packaging-like products to a consumer in the Province, whether online or at a

physical location;

“rigid plastic” means moulded plastic, such as a food or product container;

“small producer” means

(

i) a producer whose gross annual revenue in the Province is less than

$1 000 000, or

(ii) a producer who supplies less than 1 tonne of designated material in

the Province in a year;

“Standard” means the Packaging, Paper Products and Packaging-Like Products

Material Management Standards published by the Minister;

“transport packaging” means material used in addition to primary packaging to

facilitate the handling or transportation of 1 or more products by a person other

than an end user, such as a pallet, bale wrap or box, but does not include a shipping

container designed for transporting products;

“visitor accommodations” means a hotel, motel, resort or other accommodations

where a person stays on a temporary basis.

Part I: Application and Exemptions

Application

(1) These regulations apply only to the designated material prescribed in

Section 7 that

is supplied to a consumer.

(2) Effective on and after the implementation date, a producer must not supply or

distribute designated material in or bring designated material into the Province

unless the producer or an agent of the producer is registered in the registry and

operating in accordance with these regulations.

(3) A producer may designate a producer responsibility organization to operate on its

behalf in accordance with these regulations.

Administrator

(1) The Minister may appoint 1 or more Administrators to administer these

regulations.

(2) An Administrator appointed under subsection (1) must administer these regulations

and perform the duties and responsibilities assigned.

Implementation date

5 For the purposes of these regulations, the implementation date is December 1, 2025.

Exemptions

(1) All of the following persons are exempt from the requirements of these

regulations:

(

a) a society incorporated under the Societies Act , except a society incorporated

for educational purposes such as a university or college within the Province;

(

b) a small producer.

(2) Despite subsection (1), a small producer must comply with the requirements in

Section 32.

Part II: Designated Material, Producer Determination, Readiness Report and

Administrator

Designated material

7 For the purposes of

Part IX of the Act, packaging, paper products and packaging-like

products are designated material for the purposes of these regulations.

Producer determination

(1) A producer of packaging, paper products and packaging-like products supplied in

the Province is a producer for the purposes of these regulations if they are any of

the following:

(

a) the brand holder of the designated material, if the brand holder is a resident

of Canada;

(

b) if there is no person who meets the description in clause (a), the importer of

the designated material, if the importer is a resident of the Province;

(

c) if there is no person who meets the description in clauses (

a) and (b), the

retailer.

(2) If a producer of packaging, paper products and packaging-like products is a

business operated wholly or in part as a franchise, the producer for the purposes of

these regulations is the franchisor if the franchisor has 1 or more franchises located

in the Province.

(3) Despite subsection (2), if an importer adds a designated material to a product for

transportation or other purposes, the producer of the added designated material is 1

of the following:

(

a) the importer of the product, if the importer is a resident of the Province;

(

b) if there is no person who meets the description in clause (a), the retailer.

Readiness report

(1) No later than October 1, 2024, a producer must consult with every municipality in

the Province and submit a readiness report containing all of the following

information to the Administrator:

(

a) a description of the consultation with the municipalities and how the

feedback was addressed;

(

b) a description of the actions planned or already undertaken to ensure that the

requirements of

Part IV will be met by the implementation date;

(

c) a description of the actions planned or already undertaken to ensure that the

requirements of Parts V, VI and VII are met.

(2) A producer may designate a producer responsibility organization to prepare and

submit a readiness report on its behalf.

(3) After reviewing a readiness report, the Administrator must do 1 of the following:

(

a) send written notice to the producer acknowledging receipt of the readiness

report;

(

b) require the producer to provide any additional information that the

Administrator considers necessary to evaluate the readiness report.

Duties of Administrator

10 The Administrator’s objectives are to do all of the following:

(

a) perform the duties and exercise the powers given to the Administrator under

these regulations and in the operating agreement;

(

b) provide information relating to resource recovery in the Province and the

Administrator’s activities under these regulations;

(

c) enforce the obligations of producers, producer responsibility organizations,

processors and municipalities under these regulations.

Identification of Administrator

11 Unless otherwise revoked in writing by the Minister, the Minister is deemed to have

appointed the Resource Recovery Fund Board established under

Section 98 of the Act

and

Section 5 of the Solid Waste-Resource Management Regulations as an Administrator

in accordance with subsection 4(1).

Operating agreement

(1) The Minister and the Administrator must enter into an operating agreement

respecting the Administrator’s activities in accordance with this Section.

agreement respecting their administration and oversight of the matters described in

the operating agreement and these regulations, including the delegation of any

powers, duties or functions of the Minister under these regulations to the

Administrator.

Annual action plan and annual report

(1) No later than January 31 of each year, unless otherwise agreed to by the Minister,

the Administrator must create, adopt and submit an annual action plan to the

Minister.

(2) No later than July 31 of each year, unless otherwise agreed to by the Minister, the

Administrator must submit an annual report and audited financial statements

respecting the implementation of its objectives during the previous fiscal year.

(3) An annual action plan and annual report must be in the form and manner required

by the Minister as established in the operating agreement and include all of the

information required by the operating agreement.

(4) The Administrator must make each annual report available to the public promptly

after submitting it to the Minister.

Cost recovery

(1) The Administrator may recover its costs for the administration of these regulations

from producers, processors and producer responsibility organizations and any other

persons it registers or from whom it receives reports.

(2) Despite subsection (1), the Administrator must not recover costs from a

municipality unless the municipality is also a producer or processor.

(3) Any methods established by the Administrator for cost recovery must be in

accordance with these regulations and the operating agreement.

(4) The Administrator must consult with the affected parties when establishing

methods for cost recovery.

(5) A person from whom the Administrator is recovering costs related to the

administration of these regulations must pay the calculated amount to the

Administrator at the times specified by the Administrator.

Part III: Registry and Registration

Registry

(1) The Administrator must maintain and operate a registry for designated material.

(2) The Administrator must register a producer, processor, producer responsibility

organization and municipality that applies for registration in accordance with these

regulations.

(3) The Administrator may cancel or suspend the registration of a producer, processor

or producer responsibility organization who contravenes these regulations and may

reinstate the registration of a producer, processor or producer responsibility

organization whose registration has been cancelled or suspended.

(4) The Administrator may cancel the registration of a producer who

(

a) ceases to supply designated material in the Province; or

(

b) after being registered has been exempt under subsection 6(1) in 3

consecutive calendar years.

(5) The Administrator may cancel the registration of a producer responsibility

organization that ceases to exist.

Registration requirement for municipalities

(1) On and after a submission date specified by the Administrator and no later than

January 1, 2024, a municipality must apply for registration in the form and manner

required by the Administrator.

(2) A municipality’s information in the registry must be transferred to the producers no

more than 30 days after the date the registration period set out in subsection (1)

ends.

Registration requirements for producers

17 On and after a submission date that is identified by the Administrator, but no later than

January 1, 2024, every producer must register in the form and manner required by the

Administrator.

Registration requirements for processors

18 On or after the implementation date, a processor must register as a processor in the form

and manner established by the Administrator if the processor intends to provide services

under

Part IV to a producer or producer responsibility organization.

Registration requirement for producer responsibility organization

19 Within 30 days of entering into an agreement with a producer, a producer responsibility

organization must register with the Administrator as a producer responsibility

organization in the form and manner required by the Administrator.

Change in information

20 A producer, processor or producer responsibility organization must notify the

Administrator of any change in the information submitted under this

Section and submit

updated information to the Administrator no more than 30 days after the date the

information changed.

Part IV: Duty to Collect

Collection system

(1) On and after the implementation date, a producer must establish and operate a

collection system.

(2) A producer may meet the requirements of subsection (1) by establishing and

operating a common collection system with 1 or more other producers that is

operated by a producer responsibility organization on their behalf in accordance

with subsection (3).

(3) A common collection system operated by a producer responsibility organization on

behalf of a producer must be established by a written agreement between the

producer responsibility organization and each producer.

(4) A single common collection system may be established and operated on behalf of

all producers by a single producer responsibility organization.

(5) A producer responsibility organization that has entered into an agreement with a

producer to provide a common collection system must do all of the following:

(

a) establish and operate a collection system in accordance with this Part;

(

b) comply with any requirements under this Part that apply to a producer.

Duty to collect

22 A producer must ensure that every eligible source in the Province receives collection

service in the form of a common collection system for designated material in accordance

with these regulations.

Requirement for curbside or depot collection for residential premises

(1) A producer must provide curbside collection of designated material for all

residential premises that receive curbside garbage collection in the Province.

(2) A producer must provide depot collection of designated material for residential

premises in the Province that do not receive curbside garbage collection.

Requirement for collection at facilities

(1) A producer must provide collection of designated material for every facility.

(2) A producer who provides collection for a facility must provide receptacles for the

storage of designated material at the facility until it is collected.

First Nations collection

(1) A producer must ensure that an offer is made by or on behalf of the producer to

provide a common collection system to eligible sources within the reserve of a

First Nation.

(2) An offer under subsection (1) must meet all of the following requirements:

(

a) it must include details of how collection services will be provided;

(

b) it must be made to the First Nation no later than 6 months before the

implementation date.

(3) If an offer to provide collection service is accepted by the First Nation, every

eligible source within the reserve of the First Nation is deemed an eligible source

to which the collection requirements under

Part IV of these regulations apply.

Part V: Material Management

Material categories

(1) All of the following are the material categories for designated material for the

purposes of these regulations:

(

a) paper;

(

b) rigid plastic;

(

c) flexible plastic;

(

d) glass;

(

e) metal.

(2) A producer must meet the management requirements specified in the Standard for

the material categories listed in subsection (1) in accordance with this Part.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), designated material must be assigned to a material

category and no designated material may be assigned to more than 1 material

category.

(4) Despite subsection (3), designated material may be divided into separate

components, and each component may be assigned to its own material category, as

long as all of the components of the designated material are assigned to a material

category.

(5) Designated material must be assigned to the material category that best matches its

primary characteristic.

Material management requirements

(1) The material management requirements for the purpose of subsection (2) are

specified in the Standard.

(2) A producer must meet the material management requirements for material

categories using the methods specified in the Standard.

Part VI: Auditing, Reporting and Record Keeping

Initial producer reporting requirements

(1) No later than October 1, 2024, a producer of designated material supplied to

consumers must submit a report to the Administrator that contains all of the

following information for the previous calendar year:

(

a) the total weight of designated material in each material category supplied to

consumers in the Province for which the person is a producer;

(

b) if applicable, the total weight of the designated material in each material

category in clause (

a) that was

(

i) deposited into a receptacle at a location that is not an eligible source,

and

(ii) collected from an eligible source at the time the product was installed

or delivered;

(

c) the total weight of designated material in each material category reported in

clause (

a) minus the total weight of the designated material reported in

clause (b).

(2) If the information is reported by a producer responsibility organization on behalf of

a producer, the producer must provide an attestation of the information.

Annual reporting by producer

(1) On or before May 31 in each year beginning in 2027, a producer of designated

material supplied to consumers in the Province must submit an annual report to the

Administrator that contains all of the following information:

(

a) the total weight of the designated material in each material category

supplied to consumers by the producer;

(

b) if applicable, the total weight of the designated material in each material

category in clause (

a) that was

(

i) deposited into a receptacle at a location that is not an eligible source,

and

(ii) collected from an eligible source at the time the product was installed

or delivered;

(

c) the total weight of designated material in each material category reported in

clause (

a) minus the total weight of the designated material reported in

clause (b);

(

d) a description of the actions taken to meet the producer’s requirements under

Parts IV, V and VI, including the total weight of materials that were

recovered from designated material collected under

Part IV;

(

e) a list of every processor that the producer retained to process designated

material supplied to consumers in the Province;

(

f) the producer’s management requirement for each material category

calculated in accordance with

Part V, including the total weight of

recovered resources it accounted for in respect of its management

requirement in each material category and whether it met or exceeded its

management requirement for each material category;

(

g) the total weight of recovered resources reported under clause (

f) that were

(

i) marketed for reuse for their original purpose or function,

(ii) marketed for use in new products or packaging,

(iii) marketed for beneficial reuse, or

(iv) marketed for energy recovery.

(2) If the information in clauses (1)(

a) and (

b) is reported by a producer responsibility

organization on behalf of a producer, the producer must provide an attestation of

the information.

(3) Despite subsection (1), the Administrator may approve an alternative reporting date

in writing.

(4) The information contained in the annual report is for the calendar year before the

year the report is required to be submitted.

Annual reporting by processors

30 A processor must submit an annual report to the Administrator, in the form and manner

established by the Administrator.

Records

31 Each producer, producer responsibility organization and processor must keep all of the

following in a paper or electronic format that can be examined in the Province for a

period of 5 years from the date of their creation:

(

a) records related to arranging, establishing or operating a common collection

system for the purpose of fulfilling responsibilities relating to designated

material;

(

b) records related to information required to be submitted to the registry;

(

c) records related to arranging, establishing or operating a promotion and

education program required under these regulations;

(

d) records related to the weight of designated material supplied to consumers

in the Province for which the person is a producer;

(

e) any agreements relating to the information described in this Section.

Small producers

(1) A small producer must keep records that demonstrate that it meets the definition of

a small producer in a paper or electronic format that can be examined in the

Province for a period of 5 years from the date of their creation.

(2) The Administrator may request that a small producer submit its records under

subsection (1) to the registry to verify that the producer meets the annual financial

or tonnage threshold exemption.

(3) A small producer must provide the records under subsection (2) to the registry no

more than 15 days after the date of the request, unless the deadline is extended by

the Administrator.

Audit of producer’s practices and procedures

(1) On or before April 30, 2030, and every 4th year afterward, a producer must have

its practices and procedures respecting

Part V for the 4 immediately preceding

years audited.

(2) On or before April 30, in any year in which an audit is required, a producer must

prepare and submit a report on the audit to the Administrator that includes all of

the following information:

(

a) a

summary of the analysis in the audit of the information submitted by the

producer in its annual report under clauses 29(1)(c), (

f) and (g);

(

b) a

summary of the opinion provided by the auditor on whether the producer

complied with its obligations under

Part V, including any obligations

described in the Standard, during the 4 calendar years subject to the audit.

(3) The audit must be conducted by a qualified independent auditor.

Part VII: Promotion and Education

Producer promotion and education requirements

(1) A producer who is required to establish and operate a collection system for

collecting designated material under

Part IV must implement a promotion and

education program for the purpose of sharing information and promoting the

operation of the common collection system in accordance with this Part.

(2) 1 or more producers and producer responsibility organizations may meet the

requirements of this Part through a promotion and education program provided by

another person on their behalf.

(3) In this Part, a reference to a producer includes a producer responsibility

organization to which subsection (1) applies.

Information on common collection system

35 A promotion and education program established in respect of a common collection

system provided by a producer must include all of the following information:

(

a) a list of designated material that must be deposited into designated material

receptacles;

(

b) a list of material that must not be deposited into designated material

receptacles;

(

c) a description of how to replace a designated material receptacle or obtain an

additional designated material receptacle;

(

d) a description of how the producer will fulfil its collection responsibilities,

including,

(

i) for a producer who provides curbside collection for an eligible

source, the dates on which collection will occur, or

(ii) for a producer who provides depot collection, the location of every

depot collection site and its hours of operation;

(

e) a description of how to prepare designated material for placement in a

designated material receptacle, including any direction about rinsing,

flattening, sorting or bagging designated material;

(

f) information on how to minimize litter from curbside recycling storage and

on collection day;

(

g) any additional information the Administrator may require.

Forms of promotion

36 A promotion and education program must be provided in both of the following forms:

(

a) on a publicly accessible website;

(

b) in print, and available upon request by an eligible source.

Legislative History

Reference Tables

Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging,

Paper Products and Packaging-Like Products Regulations

N.S. Reg.

139/2023

Environment Act

Note: The

information in these tables does not form part of the regulations and is

compiled by the Office of the Registrar of Regulations for reference only.

Source Law

The current consolidation of the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging, Paper

Products and Packaging-Like Products Regulations made under the Environment Act includes all of the following

regulations:

N.S.

Regulation

In force

date*

How in force

Royal Gazette

Part II Issue

139/2023

Aug 1, 2023

date specified

Aug 11, 2023

The following regulations are not

yet in force and are not included in the current consolidation:

N.S.

Regulation

In force

date*

How in force

Royal Gazette

Part II Issue

*See subsection 3(6) of the Regulations Act for

rules about in force dates of regulations.

Amendments by Provision

ad. = added

am. = amended

fc. = fee change

ra. = reassigned

rep. = repealed

rs. = repealed and substituted

Provision affected

How affected

..........................................................

Note that changes to headings are not

included in the above table.

Editorial Notes and Corrections

Note

Effective

date

Repealed and Superseded

N.S.

Regulation

Title

In force

date

Repealed

date

Note: Only

regulations that are specifically repealed and replaced appear in this

table. It may not reflect the entire

history of regulations on this subject matter.