Why do I have to report information to two different recycling programs?

Since 1994, the BC government has utilized an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model, making producers of regulated products responsible for managing their products’ lifecycle. The BC Recycling Regulation sets the requirements for obligated producers to collect and manage their regulated products. Within the Recycling Regulation, different schedules outline the various regulated product categories:

• Schedule 1: Beverage Container Product Category

• Schedule 5: Packaging and Paper Product Category

Encorp Pacific (Canada) better known as Return-It is the Producer Responsibility Organization responsible for managing most of the products that fall under Schedule 1 Beverage Containers. Almost any “ready-to-serve" beverage sold in a container made of aluminum, glass, paper, plastic, steel or other similar material that was sealed by its manufacturer needs to be registered as part of the Return-It program. Under the Recycling Regulation, the ministry does not consider the following to be ready-to-serve drinks:

• Infant formula

• Meal replacements or dietary supplements

• “Concentrates” eg. Frozen or unfrozen juice concentrates, etc. that require one or more additives to transform it into a ready-to-serve drink

• Liquids that are primarily used for other purposes or are not meant primarily as a ready-to-serve drink (eg. Coffee cream and other coffee additives, whipping cream, buttermilk, broth, etc.)

• Liquids that are not typically considered to be milk or milk substitutes, but rather are modified, milk-derived or similar products, such as drinkable yogurt, kefir, etc. (typically consumed as a yogurt substitute)

Recycle BC is the Producer Responsibility Organization responsible for residential packaging and paper products that fall under Schedule 5. With respect to the sale of beverages, while the deposit bearing containers fall under the Return-It program any other secondary packaging such as a box, tray, rigid can carrier and plastic wrap is part of the Recycle BC program.

As an organization selling ready-to-serve beverages in BC it’s likely you will need to be registered with both Return-It and Recycle BC in order to be in compliance with the BC Recycling Regulation as a producer of a regulated product sold in BC.

If you have any questions, need clarification or are unsure if you need to register your container, please contact the Brand Registry team at brandregistry@returnit.ca.