Bill 91 explained in plain English
Waste Reduction Act, 2013
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
The Waste Reduction Act, 2013, establishes a new framework for waste reduction in Ontario, replacing the Waste Diversion Act, 2002, and introducing producer responsibility, integrated pricing, and a new Waste Reduction Authority.
This Ontario bill, the Waste Reduction Act, 2013, establishes a new system for reducing, reusing, and recycling waste. It repeals the Waste Diversion Act, 2002, but continues existing waste diversion programs. The bill creates the Waste Reduction Authority (formerly Waste Diversion Ontario) and outlines its responsibilities, including setting standards for waste reduction and overseeing industry funding organizations. It makes producers responsible for waste derived from their products and requires them to register with the Authority and potentially reimburse municipalities for waste collection costs. The bill also introduces rules for integrated pricing, requiring environmental protection costs to be included in product prices and clearly communicated to consumers. Enforcement measures, including inspections, compliance orders, and administrative penalties, are also detailed. The Act aims to promote waste reduction and environmental protection.
- Establishes a new regime for waste reduction, reuse, and recycling.
- Repeals the Waste Diversion Act, 2002.
- Continues existing waste diversion programs that were in operation before the Act came into force.
- Continues Waste Diversion Ontario as the Waste Reduction Authority, with new objects and powers.
- Makes producers responsible for waste derived from their products.
- Requires producers and intermediaries to register with the Waste Reduction Authority.
- Requires producers to collect designated waste from municipalities and reimburse them for costs, with specific determination methods for reimbursement amounts.
- Introduces integrated pricing rules, requiring environmental protection costs to be included in product prices and communicated clearly to consumers.
- Prohibits false, misleading, or deceptive representations about recovered environmental costs.
- Grants powers to inspectors for compliance and enforcement, including inspection, seizure, compliance orders, and administrative penalties.
- Establishes an appeal process for orders to the Environmental Review Tribunal.
- Creates new offences for contravening the Act and regulations, with specified penalties.
- Authorizes the Lieutenant Governor in Council and the Minister to make regulations to support the Act's implementation.
- Continues existing industry funding organizations and waste diversion programs approved under the previous Act.
- Provides for the winding up of existing waste diversion programs and industry funding organizations.
- Includes specific provisions regarding Brewers Retail Inc. and its packaging return system.
- Amends other Acts, including the Corporations Act and the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010, in relation to the Authority.
- Producers of products
- Intermediaries of producers
- Municipalities
- Sellers of products
- Waste Reduction Authority
- Existing industry funding organizations
- Consumers
- Brewers Retail Inc.
- Ministry of the Environment
- Registrar, Deputy Registrars, and Inspectors
- Producers must register with the Waste Reduction Authority.
- Producers are responsible for waste derived from their products.
- Producers and intermediaries must enter into service agreements.
- Producers must collect designated waste from municipalities and reimburse costs, unless exceptions apply.
- Sellers must integrate and communicate environmental protection costs in product pricing.
- Persons must not make false, misleading, or deceptive representations regarding environmental costs.
- Producers, intermediaries, and sellers must comply with waste reduction standards and service standards.
- Persons must not hinder inspectors or provide false information.
- Brewers Retail Inc. has specific reporting requirements and exemptions.
- Consumers have the right to accurate information about environmental protection costs.
- The Act comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, with specific commencement provisions for certain sections related to the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010.
- The Waste Reduction Authority can set and collect fees for services.
- Producers may be reimbursed by municipalities for waste collection costs.
- Producers and intermediaries are responsible for waste reduction services and may incur costs associated with compliance, registration, and reporting.
- Sellers must include environmental protection costs in product prices.
- Existing industry funding organizations can collect stewardship fees from stewards.
- The Authority may establish and charge fees for administrative costs related to reports and plan approvals.
- Inspectors have powers of entry, inspection, seizure, and can issue compliance orders.
- Administrative penalties can be imposed for contraventions, with daily maximums and a total maximum penalty per contravention.
- Failure to pay administrative penalties can result in enforcement as a court order.
- Appeals of orders can be made to the Registrar and then to the Environmental Review Tribunal.
- Contraventions of the Act and regulations are offences punishable by fines, with higher penalties for corporations and subsequent convictions.
- Directors, officers, employees, or agents of a corporation that commits an offence can also be guilty of the offence.
- A person who pays an administrative penalty and remedies the contravention cannot be convicted of an offence for the same contravention.
- Provincial officers can investigate and prosecute offences under Part VII.
- The specific 'designated wastes' and 'prescribed' requirements are not detailed in this text and would be outlined in regulations.
- The 'material change' to existing waste diversion programs requires consultation and Ministerial approval, the specifics of which are not detailed.
- The exact amounts of fees set by the Authority or administrative penalties are not specified and would be determined by regulations or the Authority.
- The specific conditions for exemptions from certain provisions are not fully detailed and are subject to regulations.
- The commencement date of the Act depends on proclamation by the Lieutenant Governor.
- The application of certain provisions is subject to prescribed criteria and regulations.
- The powers of provincial officers can be limited by the Minister's designation.
The Waste Diversion Act, 2002, is repealed.
Source: Section 131
The Corporations Act no longer applies to the Waste Reduction Authority, except as provided by regulations.
Source: Section 16
The Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010, is referenced in amendments to this Act, affecting how it applies to the Waste Reduction Authority.
Source: Section 130 (1), (2), (3), (4)
The Corporations Information Act no longer applies to the Waste Reduction Authority, except as provided by regulations.
Source: Section 16
Certain provisions of the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993, apply to the consideration of operating agreements and material changes to waste diversion programs.
Source: Section 10 (6), Section 91 (6)
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced