Ontario Canada Mandates Lamp Recycling Requirements For Manufacturers

Effective January 1, 2023, lamp/bulb manufacturers have new “extended producer responsibility” requirements in Ontario, Canada, for end-of-life management of “lighting” under Ontario Regulation 522/20: Electrical and Electronic Equipment (the “EEE Regulation”). This includes both residential and commercial lamps sold in Ontario.

Product Care Recycling is a not-for-profit organization registered as a “Producer Responsibility Organization” (PRO) for lamps/bulbs under the EEE Regulation, and currently operating an Ontario end-of-life lighting products management system, as required under the EEE Regulation, on behalf of its manufacturer members. The compliance requirements of the EEE Regulation include the establishment and operation of a “no charge to drop off” network for the collection and recycling of lamps/bulbs, across Ontario. Product Care Recycling manages this network. The Product Care Recycling program also provides a direct pickup and recycling service for commercial volumes (minimum of 1 full skid) of end-of-life lamps, such as from a re-lamping or construction project.

The scope of lighting products covered by the Ontario regulations is the following:

• “Lighting includes the following: Light bulbs, tubes, and lamps, including incandescent, fluorescent, halogen, light emitting diode (LED) and high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps.”
• “Lighting’ means EEE that has the primary purpose of producing light, such as a bulb, lamp, light emitting diode or tube, including but not limited to the examples set out in section 2 of Schedule 1, but does not include,

(a)  Lighting that is provided with another product or a fixture, or

(b)  Lighting that also falls into the category of ITT/AV; (“matériel d’éclairage”)”

• “This Regulation does not apply to the following products, regardless of whether they would fall into one or more categories of EEE: Streetlights and signal or lighting systems designed to control or manage the movement of vehicles or pedestrians.”

The full legal language of the regulations can be found here.

Information on manufacturer compliance utilizing Product Care Recycling can be found here.

David Shiller

David Shiller is the Publisher of LightNOW, and President of Lighting Solution Development, a North American consulting firm providing business development services to advanced lighting manufacturers. The ALA awarded David the Pillar of the Industry Award. David has co-chaired ALA’s Engineering Committee since 2010. David established MaxLite’s OEM component sales into a multi-million dollar division. He invented GU24 lamps while leading ENERGY STAR lighting programs for the US EPA. David has been published in leading lighting publications, including LD+A, enLIGHTenment Magazine, LEDs Magazine, and more.

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