The BC Recycling Regulation requires a “product stewardship program” for smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms in British Columbia. All “producers” of these products (typically the first seller in BC, see discussion below) must be part of an approved stewardship program to fulfill their legal obligations under this regulation.
The BC Smoke and CO Alarm Recycling Program:
In collaboration with the major brand owners of these products, Product Care Association has developed a program for smoke and CO alarms. Public consultation events were held in February and March, 2011 and the plan was revised based on the feedback received. The program’s stewardship plan has been approved by the BC Ministry of Environment (BCMoE). The program will include a province-wide collection system where consumers can drop off used smoke and CO alarms for recycling and proper disposal.
Program Launched October 1, 2011:
The program was launched October 1, 2011
Joining the Product Care Program:
Obligated “producers” can fulfill their obligations under the Recycling Regulation by joining Product Care as a member of the program. The program costs will be funded by eco fees reported and paid to Product Care by program members based on the number of smoke and CO alarms sold in BC each month starting October 1, 2011. See below for more details.
Product Care held webinars on September 22 and 29 to explain the eco-fee reporting procedure to members
Please click on the presentation and press CTRL+F to view in full-screen mode, press Esc to return to the Product Care Website. Please note that you will not be able to use the controls (pause, fast forward, rewind etc) unless you are in full-screen mode.
All stand-alone smoke alarms powered by a battery and/or hardwired to a building's electrical system, as defined by the CAN/ULC-s531 standard, are included in the program. For program and fee-collection purposes, the following types of products are classified as a smoke alarm:
Ionization smoke alarms
Photoelectric smoke alarms
Combination ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms
Combination ionization smoke and CO alarms
Combination photoelectric smoke and CO alarms
The program also includes stand-alone Carbon Monoxide (CO) alarms, as defined by the CAN/CSA 6.19 standard. For program and fee collection purposes, combination smoke and CO alarms are classified as a smoke alarm.
Excluded Products:
Units that perform only a smoke and/or CO detector function and are linked to a building-wide monitoring or alarm system, such as those defined by the CAN/ULC-S529 standard, are outside the scope of this program. These products may be required to be part of a product stewardship program by July 1, 2012, pursuant to the Regulation.
(i) a person who manufactures the product and sells, offers for sale or distributes the product in British Columbia under the manufacturer’s own brand,
(ii) if subparagraph (i) does not apply, a person who is not the manufacturer of the product but is the owner or licensee of a trademark under which a product is sold or distributed in British Columbia, whether or not the trademark is registered, or
(iii) if subparagraphs (i) and (ii) do not apply, a person who imports the product into British Columbia for sale or distribution
The B.C. Ministry of Environment’s Recycling Regulation Guide provides the following additional interpretative guidance on how the term "Producer" is applied in practice:
The product producer is principally the first seller of the product in the province. In practice the producer is typically the product manufacturer, distributor or brand-owner. The producer could also be an importer, broker or retailer who sells the product directly to a consumer, including those whose sales are transacted by catalogue or over the Internet.
The “producer” of a designated product has the obligation to comply with the Recycling Regulation. The BC Ministry of Environment Recycling Regulation Guide states that the “producer” is the entity that is legally obligated to comply with the Recycling Regulation and file a stewardship plan and launch and operate that plan once approved by the Ministry.
By becoming a member of Product Care’s BC Smoke and CO Alarm program, your company will be in compliance with the regulation.
Members of the program agree to report, on a monthly basis, their sales of program applicable products to Product Care and remit applicable eco fees on those sales. For more information on these fees and reporting procedures, please refer to the questions below.
Sometimes it is more practical for a company that is not the legally obligated producer to join the program and report on their sales (sometimes called a “voluntary remitter”).
The program is flexible in terms of which company in the supply chain becomes a member, so long as there is assurance that the program receives the eco fee for every program product sold in BC. The legal producer definition becomes relevant where it is determined that products/fees are not reported to the program and the matter is referred to the Ministry of Environment for compliance with the regulation.
Examples of situations where this may be practical:
1. The obligated producer ships to its retail customer’s distribution centre (which may or may not be in BC) and only the retail customer knows the quantity actually sold in BC. In this example the retailer and producer agree with each other (and notify Product Care in writing):
The retailer will join the Product Care program and report and remit fees on all sales in BC of the designated products sold by the retailer, regardless of brand
The producer does not report/pay the program on sales to that retailer, but does report/pay on sales to other BC customers.
2. Company A has no operations in BC but “ships to store” for many BC based retailers or distributors and is aware of the quantity sold by each retailer or distributor. As a service to its retail or distributor customers, Company A agrees to report to Product Care on the aggregate of all BC sales to these customers, and the customers do not. However if the retailer or distributor sells other brands of the designated products, it must report and pay fees on those sales (unless a similar agreement is reached with that company).
For a company to be a voluntary remitter, they should discuss this with suppliers or customers in their supply chain and after they reach an agreement, the company can register with Product Care as a member.
For every smoke and CO alarm sold in BC after October 1, 2011 by an electrical distributor or any other company, an eco-fee must be reported and remitted to Product Care Association, either by that electrical distributor or by their supplier. See discussion above. For a distributor selling smoke and CO alarms in BC, there are two options to ensure this occurs:
1.) Option 1: The supplier, as a member of Product Care Association, reports BC sales and remits the applicable eco-fees to Product Care on a monthly basis for all sales of designated products to the electrical distributor. In this case, the wholesale invoice may include separate line items for smoke alarm eco-fees ($1.20/unit) and CO alarm eco-fees ($0.60/unit). The electrical distributor is then free, if it chooses, to pass on this additional cost to their customers, either by directly incorporating the cost of the eco-fee into the product price or by listing the eco fee as a separate line item on the product receipt/invoice. Note that this option requires the supplier to be able to accurately estimate the quantity of shipments to the electrical distributor that will remain in BC as BC sales.
2.) Option 2: The electrical distributor becomes a member of Product Care Association and reports BC sales and remits the applicable eco-fees to Product Care on a monthly basis. The supplier would, therefore, not report/remit to Product Care on any shipments of program products to that electrical distributor. The electrical distributor is then free, if it chooses, to pass on this additional cost to their customers, either by directly incorporating the cost of the eco-fee into the product price or by listing the eco fee as a separate line item on the product receipt/invoice.
Electrical distributors should begin discussions with their suppliers to determine who will be joining the program and remitting fees. Applicable contact information can be found below.
For every smoke and CO alarm sold in BC after October 1, 2011 by a retailer an eco-fee must be “remitted” to Product Care Association, either by that retailer or by their supplier (brand owner or distributor). For a retailer selling smoke and CO alarms in BC, there are two options to ensure this occurs:
1.) The supplier, as a member of Product Care Association, reports monthly BC sales and remits the applicable eco-fees to Product Care on a monthly basis for all sales to the retailer. Related invoices sent to the applicable retailer may include separate line items for smoke alarm eco-fees ($1.20/unit) and CO alarm eco-fees ($0.60/unit). If applicable, this option may require modification to the retailer’s EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) system. The retailer is then free, if it chooses, to pass on this additional cost to their customers, either by directly incorporating the cost of the eco-fee into the product price or by listing the eco fee as a separate line item on the product receipt. Note that this option requires the supplier to be able to accurately estimate the quantity of shipments to the retailer that will remain in BC as BC sales.
2.) The retailer becomes a member of Product Care Association and reports monthly BC sales and remits the applicable eco-fees to Product Care on a monthly basis. The supplier would, therefore, not report sales or remit eco-fees on any shipments sent to that retailer. The retailer is then free, if it chooses, to pass on this additional cost to their customers, either by directly incorporating the cost of the eco-fee into the product price or by listing the eco fee as a separate line item on the product receipt. Certain retailers have chosen this option with other stewardship programs in BC to ensure BC specific sales are accurately reported and to simplify the reporting process.
Retailers should begin discussions with their suppliers to determine who will be joining the program and remitting fees. Applicable contact information can be found below.
To initiate membership with Product Care Association, please contact Jordan Best at jordan@productcare.org. Potential members will be sent a membership package and relevant details to review and submit to Product Care. Existing members of Product Care for other sectors (paint, fluorescent lights etc.) will be sent a supplemental agreement to join the BC Smoke and CO Alarm Program.
If you intend to join the Product Care program, please contact Jordan best at jordan@productcare.org as soon as possible. Membership is required by October 1, 2011, the launch date of the program, but should be initiated well in advance of this date.
As long as all of your company’s program product sales are being reported to the program by you, your customers or your suppliers, the intent of the regulation is met. Ensure that you have informed Product Care in writing of which companies are reporting on your behalf and if you wish to receive further member communications or not. Please note that, as for any self reporting system, Product Care routinely conducts “member compliance reviews” and interest and penalties apply in the case of underreporting.
Product Care is a non-profit industry managed association formed for the purpose of managing product stewardship programs required under provincial regulations. The BC Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Program, which will start on October 1, 2011, will be funded entirely by eco fees remitted to Product Care by its industry members based on the number of units sold in BC.
The eco fees paid on smoke and CO alarms will fund the collection, transportation, recycling and safe disposal of returned products, as well as program administration and communication.
Program members have the option to include the eco fee in the product price or to show the fee separately at wholesale or retail. Consumers may see the eco fee separately on their receipts starting October 1, 2011. The eco fee is subject to sales tax, as it is considered to be a part of the price of regulated products. While the applicable HST is remitted to the government, NO PART of the eco fee itself is remitted to the government.
The eco fee rates will be:
Smoke Alarms*
$1.20
Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarms
$0.60
*includes combination smoke/CO alarms
Where multiple program products are sold as one unit (often in one package), the fees are additional based on the fee per product that would be charged.
Example 1: Three smoke alarms in one package would be 3 times the smoke alarm fee ($3.60).
Example 2: A package of a smoke alarm and CO alarm would pay the sum of a smoke alarm fee and a CO alarm fee ($1.80).
Members will file reports to the Product Care of the quantity sold (in units) and will remit "eco-fees" to the program. The link above lists the fee rates.
Reporting will be on a monthly basis using an online reporting system. Reports and fee remittances will be due by the end of the month following the reporting period (e.g. sales in July 2010 must be reported and received by the Program before the end of August). Fees payable by members to the program are subject to HST. View more details on eco fee remittance.
The reporting system will be located at www.ecofeereporting.com Program members will be notified when the system is available for use and provided with additional information. Instructional webinars will be provided to new members to explain how to use the system and submit reports.
The fee may be shown separately on the product receipt, incorporated directly into the price of the product or absorbed, at the discretion of the program members and their subsequent customers. In comparable programs, the fee is often passed down through the supply chain to consumers at the retail level. The price paid by consumers should never exceed the program-mandated fee.
