If you represent an outdoor power equipment manufacturer that sells electrical-powered equipment in Canada, please read and respond immediately to the following announcement from the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI).

OPEI issues urgent message to OPE manufacturers selling electrical-powered product in Canada on Jan. 31 deadline

If you represent an outdoor power equipment manufacturer that sells electrical-powered equipment in Canada, please read and respond immediately to the following announcement from the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI).


OPEI announced Jan. 27 that it has issued a Stewardship Plan for Outdoor Power Equipment to comply with the requirements of the British Columbia Ministry of Environment’s (MoE) Recycling Regulation.


To prepare for implementation in July 2012, outdoor power equipment manufacturers must immediately begin reporting estimates of their electrical-powered OPE delivered to Canada overall. Estimates must be reported by Jan. 31, 2012.


For a review of the current Stewardship Plan for Outdoor Power Equipment, go to: http://www.opei.org/library-documents/about-opei/OPEIStewardshipProgramOctoberFinal.pdf


For a list of common questions and answers, visit: http://opei.org/news/detail.dot?id=22466


Kris Kiser, president and CEO of OPEI, said, “We’ve been working hard to make this new government mandate as fair and non-onerous as possible for our members and non-members. To that end, we’ve selected a non-profit Canadian recycling and recovery vendor to help streamline this process for manufacturers.”


Background


The British Columbia Recycling Regulation mandating manufacturer responsibility for product recovery and recycling includes outdoor power equipment. On behalf of its members, OPEI submitted a Stewardship Plan for Outdoor Power Equipment on Oct. 1, 2011, to the British Columbia Ministry of Environment for its consideration. The development of this plan began in March 2011 with the participation of the Canadian Task Force (CTF), consisting of 14 OPEI member company representatives, along with consulting support specific to this type of activity in Canada.


OPEI has selected Product Care Association (PCA) as the Canadian recycling and recovery project vendor. PCA is a not-for-profit industry association that manages product stewardship programs for household hazardous and special waste on behalf of its members across Canada. PCA programs help protect the environment by diverting leftover and end-of-life products from landfills, waterways and sewers. PCA provides consumers with a collection system network for the products it manages. The collected products are then reused or recycled where possible.


What do manufacturers need to do?


A requirement of the regulations is to report Recovery Rates for each product category to the Regulation. This Recovery Rate will be calculated as the percentage of product recycled compared to the product introduced into the marketplace. This data must be collected periodically and reported to the Ministry of Environment annually as required by law.

OPE manufacturers should contact OPEI to get a product summary spreadsheet. Only one worksheet per company is required.
Manufacturers will need to report estimates on Canadian sales of electrical-powered equipment to Hargrove & Associates by Jan. 31, 2012.
Hargrove & Associates will also need the name, e-mail and phone number of the company representative who will be the official contact for data. Monthly data will be collected after this initial submittal of requested information.
Companies that do not participate in the OPEI Stewardship Plan for electric outdoor power equipment will have to interact directly with the Ministry of Environment to provide a compliant recycling program.

Further information can be found at the aforementioned URLs, by contacting OPEI at (703) 549-7600, or by e-mailing Gerry Coons at gcoons@opei.org or Kristen Reamy at kristen@opei.org.


Hargrove & Associates is an independent third-party contractor that properly manages sensitive information to protect the interests of the individual companies reporting this information.


Complying with the British Columbia Ministry of Environment’s (MoE) Recycling Regulation


Questions and Answers


Q: Who must participate in the Stewardship Program?


A: The language in the regulation states that the “Producer” must participate. In the regulation, the “Producer” is defined as anyone from the OEM manufacturer through the distribution channel to the retailer that sells the product to the consumer.


It does not include component suppliers.


Q: Why must we report sales of equipment?


A: There have been changes in the Canadian government recycling requirements for electric products shipped to British Columbia, Canada. OPEI, with the Canadian Taskforce of member representatives, is working to ensure its members fulfill the Producer requirements under Part 2 of the BC Ministry of Environment’s Recycling Regulation.


The information reporting is for number of units, not $. Initially, this will be used to complete the details of the Stewardship Plan with regard to setting the environmental handling fees and budget planning. It will also be used to report weights for calculating recycling recovery rates over time.


Q: What information do you need reported?


A: An Excel form is available that asks companies to fill out information on retail outlets and distribution channels shipping or selling product in British Columbia.


Only one worksheet should be submitted per company and only for electrical-driven products.


Companies will be submitting sales estimates for each category of product sold in British Columbia, or Canada as a whole.


As the program continues, sales (shipments) into Canada will be reported monthly and used to calculate recycling recovery rates for the program.


Q: What if we only have Canadian sales, not broken out by province?


A: We have agreement in our plan to represent British Columbia sales as a percentage of all Canadian sales; this being 13 percent for British Columbia.


Q: How will the recovery rates be determined? Why must recovery rates be determined?


A: A requirement of the regulations is to report Recovery Rates of product subject to the Regulation. This Recovery Rate will be calculated as the percentage of product recycled compared to the product introduced into the marketplace.


The estimates of recoverable OPE are relatively small compared to other stewardship programs. The OPEI-CTF estimates that approximately 30,000 electric-powered OPEs are retired every year in British Columbia, or approximately 150 to 200 tons.


Q: How will the recovery rates be determined?


A: Data will be collected and reported to the Product Care Association (PCA) by the steel recycling companies as to the amount of outdoor power equipment collected for recycling. The amount of product introduced into the market will be reported monthly to PCA. PCA will use this data to calculate the recycling rates.


Q: What about fuel-powered products?


A: The Stewardship Plan requires a two-year study of fuel (gas)-powered products to analyze the level of existing recycling rates and the potential for these products to be disposed in landfills.  This study will commence in 2013.


Results of this fuel-powered products study will be used to determine if any regulatory action is warranted for these products.


Further information on fuel-powered products will be communicated at a later time.


Q: Will an Environmental Handling Fee (EHF) be imposed on fuel-powered products?


A: It is not the intent of the Stewardship Plan to impose an EHF on fuel-powered products. The EHF will be collected on electric products only.


Q: Who will collect the EHF?


A: The EHF will be collected by the retailers at the point of sale to the consumer. The EHF will show on the sales ticket as a separate item.


The EHF applies to all battery and corded outdoor power equipment.


Q: Why should we provide a list of retailers, dealers, distributors, etc.?


A: The retailers, dealers and distributors have a responsibility to charge, recover, and submit the EHF to the program. To protect our retailers, dealers and distributors and to ensure they operate properly within the regulatory requirements, we must communicate to them the information they require to comply with the requirements of the program. This includes having the proper rate structure for the EHF and ensuring they properly implement and submit these.


About OPEI


OPEI is an international trade association representing more than 80 engine and equipment manufacturers worldwide in the utility, forestry, landscape, and lawn and garden industry. OPEI is a recognized Standards Development Organization for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and active internationally through the International Standards Organization (ISO) in the development of safety standards. For more information, visit www.OPEI.org.