Funding
Product Care Recycling is an industry funded not-for-profit. The British Columbia lights program is funded entirely by Environmental Handling Fees (EHFs) remitted to Product Care by its industry members. The fees are utilized for collection, transportation, recycling and safe disposal of returned products, as well as program administration and communication.
The Environmental Handling Fees may be displayed as a separate charge by vendors, sometimes described as an eco-fee, environmental handling fee, or recycling fee on the receipt.
The Environmental Handling Fee is part of the price of regulated products and therefore subject to applicable sales taxes. While the taxes are remitted to the government, the fee itself is not remitted to the government.
In BC, fees have been applied to the sale or supply of:
- all lights/lamps since July 1, 2010, and
- all ballasts and fixtures (including retail, industrial, commercial and institutional sales) as of October 1, 2012.
| Lamps | EHFs (per unit) | |
| Fluorescent/Induction tubes – less than or equal to 2 feet | $0.20 | |
| Fluorescent/Induction tubes – greater than 2 feet and up to or equal to 4 feet | $0.40 | |
| Fluorescent/Induction tubes – greater than 4 feet | $0.80 | |
| Compact fluorescent lights (CFL) / Screw-in induction lamps | $0.15 | |
| Light emitting diodes (LED) | $0.15 | |
| High intensity discharge (HID), germicidal, special purpose, and other | $1.10 | |
| Incandescent / Halogen | $0.05 | |
| Lamps | EHFs prior to April 1, 2026 (per package) | EHFs effective April 1, 2026 (per unit) |
| Miniature bulb package (per-package)1 | $0.10 | Replaced with the Small lamps subcategory below |
| Small lamps1 | – | $0.03 |
| Fixtures | EHFs prior to April 1, 2026 (per unit) | EHFs effective April 1, 2026 (per unit) |
| Designated small fixtures / decorative light strings2 | $0.15 | Replaced with subcategories below |
| Designated small fixtures2 | – | $0.15 |
| String lights2 ≤ 50 lamps 51 to 100 lamps > 100 lamps | – | – $0.50 $1.00 $1.50 |
| Ribbon / tape lights2 ≤ 10 meters > 10 to 30 meters > 30 meters | – | – $0.50 $1.00 $1.50 |
| Fixtures | EHFs (per unit) | |
| Fixture category A: portable, small outdoor, decorative, light commercial, emergency, chandeliers, ceiling fans, linear fixtures etc. | $0.15 | |
| Fixture category B: non-linear, commercial, and industrial etc. | $0.15 | |
| Large outdoor fixtures: flood, sports, highway, street, etc. | $0.15 | |
| Ballasts | EHFs (per unit) |
| Ballasts / Transformers (not integrated into lamps or fixtures) | $0.15 |
1 The miniature bulb package product subcategory has been replaced by the small lamps product subcategory as of April 1, 2026.
2 The designated small fixtures / decorative light strings subcategory has been replaced by the small fixtures, string lights, and ribbon / tape lights product subcategories as of April 1, 2026.