Companies and organizations subject to the Environment Quality Act and the Regulation respecting compensation for municipal services provided to recover and reclaim residual materials must register with ÉEQ, report the containers, packaging and printed matter they place on the market in Quebec depending on the type of material and their quantities and pay their contributions within the prescribed time.

The contributions are established according to a Schedule of Contributions.

The Schedule of Contributions is a legal document that provides a framework for companies. It outlines information for organizations to determine whether they are subject to the Act, understand their obligations and consult the rates that apply for each designated material put on the market.

The Schedule of Contributions in a nutshell :

• Legal document that applies to companies.
• Based on the costs of managing each type of material.
• Set out each year according to a formula based on verifiable studies and data and also accounts for environmental criteria.
• Governed by strict rules.
• Presented to companies at a consultation ahead of a rigorous government approvals process under the law.
• Comes into effect once it is approved by the government of Québec and as soon as it is published in the Gazette officielle du Québec.
• Enables companies to determine whether they are subject to the Act, understand their obligations and consult the rates that apply to each material.

Consult the Schedule of Contributions section of our resource centre for further details

The following companies and organizations are subject to the Environment Quality Act:

• Are ultimately intended for Québec consumers
• Generate containers, packaging or printed matter

More specifically:

• Owners of a brandA brand is a brand used by an individual to distinguish his/her products or services (e.g. trademark). Certification marks are not included in the definition. a nameA name is the designation under which a company operates, regardless of whether it is a corporation, a partnership or an individual. or a distinguishing guiseA distinguishing guise is a unique means of wrapping or packaging a product whose presentation is used by a company or organization to distinguish itself or distinguish the products it markets..
• Companies and organizations domiciled or established in Quebec or which have a representative in Quebec.
• Owners of franchises, chains and banners domiciled or established in Quebec.
• First supplier:A person who has a domicile or an establishment in Québec and is the first to take title, or possession, or control, in Québec, of a container, a packaging or a printed matter designated by the Schedule When the owner of a brand, name or distinguishing guise is not domiciled or established in Québec, the first supplier is required to make the payment of the contribution, regardless of whether the first supplier is the importer.

My company is not domiciled in Québec. Is it still considered to have an establishment in the province? 

Even if your company does not have a head office in Québec and therefore is not considered domiciled in the province, a number of situations may confirm that it owns a place of business in Québec and is thus subject to the compensation plan. For example, this is the case for:

• A company that indicates an address in Québec in the “Établissements” section of the report it filed with the « Registraire des entreprises du Québec » or in its corporate bylaws or regulations.
• An insurance company or financial institution:

A company that offers insurance or financial products in Québec and holds a license issued by the Autorité des marchés financiers (“AMF”) is deemed to have an establishment in Québec.

• An owner of immovable property in Québec:

When a company owns an immovable in Québec, that immovable is presumed to be an establishment.

• A company that uses equipment or machinery in Québec:

When a company does not have a fixed place of business in the province, it may still have an establishment at the place where it uses an important quantity of machinery or material for a particular moment within a reference year. Said enterprise is then deemed to have an establishment at such place.

• A company whose commercial activities in the province are related to raw materials:

When the activities of a company consist of producing, growing, excavating, mining, creating, manufacturing, improving, transforming, preserving or constructing, in full or in part, anything in Québec, whether or not the sale of the thing occurs in Quebec or elsewhere, this activity will allow us to conclude that the company possessed an establishment in Québec in the year in which the activity took place.

• A company with a representative in Québec:

The establishment of a company signifies a fixed place or a principal place where it carries on business. An establishment also includes an office, a residence, a branch, a mine, a gas or oil well, an agricultural endeavor, a woodlot, a factory, a storage facility or a workshop.

When a company is operated or represented through an employee, an agent or a mandatary who is established at a particular place and has general authority to contract for his employer or mandator, or who possesses an inventory of merchandise belonging to the employer or mandator that is used to regularly fill orders that such employee, agent or mandatary receives, the enterprise is deemed to have an establishment at this place, even if the orders are sometimes placed with a distribution center that is situated outside of Québec.

However, if one of the following situations applies, you are not considered a company that has an establishment in Québec.

• Commission agent, a broker or an independent agent or subsidiary
  A company is not deemed to have an establishment by the sole fact that it has a business relationship with someone else through a commission agent, a broker or any other independent agent, or by the fact that it maintains an office or a warehouse for the sole purpose of purchasing merchandise; it will also not be deemed to have an establishment in a place for the sole reason that it controls a subsidiary that itself carries on business in Québec.
• Attorney
  A person acting as an “attorney for service” for a legal person that is registered at the Registraire des entreprises du Québec does not constitute an element that would be considered sufficient to determine that the legal person has an establishment in Québec.

When a retail outlet is supplied or operated as: 

• part of a franchise
• part of a chain of establishments
• under a banner name
• under another similar form of affiliation or group of businesses or establishments
• The practical owner of the group

contributions are payable by: 

• the franchisor
• the owner of the chain or banner
• the group in question
• their representative in Québec if the owner of the chain, banner or group in question has no domicile or establishment in Quebec or
• otherwise, by the retailer

The companies that meet one of the three following criteria may be exempted from payment. 

• It generated, directly or indirectly, one or several materials whose total weight is ≤ 1 metric tonne in the reference year
• It generated revenue, income or sales valued at ≤ $1M in the reference year

• For retailers: having only one point of purchase, which has less than 929 square meters that is not operated as a franchise or banner or group.

The exemption must be confirmed for each Schedule of Contributions in the online reporting system.

Certain companies are exempt from paying a contribution for those containers and packaging for which they already have obligations to ensure the recovery and reclamation of said materials. 

For example:

• Companies that are already required under extended producer responsibility regulations to take measures or contribute financially toward measures to recover or reclaim containers and packaging (e.g. oil and paint cans)
• Companies already required under a deposit system to take measures or contribute financially toward measures to recover or reclaim containers or packaging (e.g. beer and soft drink non-refillable containers)
• Companies that are able to establish that they participate directly in another system to recover and reclaim containers or packaging that operated on an established and regular basis in Québec, (e.g. refillable beer bottles, pesticide containers for agricultural use)

Important note

• The exemption must be confirmed for each Schedule of Contributions in the online reporting system.
• You may be required to report the secondary and tertiary packaging included with the containers and packaging. For example, packaging that is not recovered through the deposit system, such as the plastic or cardboard used to package beer and soda cans and bottles, is designated and must therefore be reported. Refer to the section on excluded materials for more information. If you have any questions, contact the Company Services team.
• Cardboard boxes returned to the retail outlet must be deducted from the calculations.

Companies that generate up to 15 metric tonnes of containers, packaging or printed matter are subject to the Environment Quality Act but do not always have the resources required to calculate their contribution.

To lessen their administrative burden, ÉEQ developed flat fees that are simple to apply according to:

• quantities generated
• sales

Important note

Low-volume producers cannot access the calculators outlined in this guide because they were not designed to evaluate small quantities.

Click here for further details on flat fees.

Companies that do not have a place of business in Québec are not subject to the compensation plan, even if they offer products or services such as containers, packaging, printed matter and newspapers (C, P, PM & N) to Quebec consumers. 

A company that does not operate a place of business in Québec may take financial responsibility for the CP&PM it places on the Québec market. It then becomes a voluntary contributor. This way, the companies that are first suppliers in Québec will not be required to report the CP&PM.

Browse through the list of voluntary contributors.

To become a voluntary contributor, a company must enter into an agreement with ÉEQ stipulating that it freely undertakes to:

• File a contribution report
• Pay the contribution established according to the Schedule of Contributions in effect c
• Comply with the preceding points with regard to all its first suppliers in Québec
• Uphold the laws of Québec regarding EQA and its compensation plan

Once recognized as a voluntary contributor by ÉEQ, the company is considered to be targeted under the compensation plan.

To apply, please read the conditions, fill out the form and send it duly signed to ÉEQ’s Company Services.

The payment of your contributions shall be made in a lump sum or in accordance with an installment plan provided for in the Schedule of Contributions, upon receipt of your notice of invoice or by the payment deadline, as stipulated in the application rules for that year.  

Any unpaid contribution due to ÉEQ more than 90 days after the effective date of the Schedule of Contributions shall bear interest at the rates fixed under section 28 of the Tax Administration Act. Such interest shall be calculated daily on the unpaid amount of the Contribution from the date the Contribution becomes due until the date of payment.  

An administrative fee of 10% of the amount of the contribution also applies to any invoice due and unpaid 150 days after the effective date of the Schedule of Contributions.  

Depending on the amount of your contribution, different payment options are available to you. You will be required to pay your annual contributions according to these choices. 

Containers, packaging and printed matter sold as products

In an effort to broaden materials subject to a fee, materials covered by the net costs paid to municipalities, short-life containers and packaging sold as products and printed matter sold as products (CP&PM products) must be reported.

CP&PM products may be grouped into different classes. The classes are not limited: they are only provided to facilitate the identification of the CP&PM products included in the broadening. Click here for examples.

Some containers, packaging and printed matter (CP&PM) are excluded from the payable contribution. You may still have to leave a trace of these CP&PM in your report. Refer to the attached table for more information.

Materials excluded from the reporting process

Companies may deduct from their report certain materials generated by their products. However, these deductions must be clearly detailed in the online reporting system, in the « Deductions » section. Companies must be able to provide supporting documents upon request.

Consult the allowable deductions related to your activity sector 

• Retailers
• Distributors
• Manufacturers
• Service companies
• Restaurants

Every year, your company must report the containers, packaging and printed matter put on Quebec’s market, by specifying, for each material subject to a fee, the actual weight and quantity.

If the total weight is inferior to 15 MT, you may follow the simplified process for low-volume producers, without having to report the materials separately.

If your company generated over 15 MT in the year, you must report the total number of kilograms for each designated material, detail the calculation method (see the « Methodology » section) and list the brands for which your company is responsible.

Go to the « Methodology » section of this guide for further details related to your activity sector.

Best practices for efficient reporting

First report

1. Determine which of your company’s activities generate designated materials that are ultimately intended for Québec consumers:
   • for example, print advertising material, containers and packaging of products sold, shopping bags and delivery packaging
     • Be sure to consider all your sales in Québec, including those shipped outside the province and then reintroduced by a retail outlet in Québec.
2. Determine whether the designated materials that are generated are your company’s responsibility:
   • for example, if your company owns the brand and is the first supplierA first supplier is a person who has a domicile or an establishment in Québec and is the first to take title, or possession, or control, in Québec, of a container, a packaging or a printed matter designated by the Schedule. in Québec
     • To determine whether your suppliers must file a report with ÉEQ, which would enable you to exclude the products sold under their brands from your own report, consult Québec’s registraire des entreprises to verify whether your suppliers have a place of business in Québec. If they do, then they are subject to the Compensation plan under the Environment Quality Act and you don’t have to report for their products.
3. Regarding products for which your company is responsible, collect the information required to establish the weight of designated materials that are generated:
   • for example, the number of units sold or distributed, the weights and the materials of the containers, packaging or printed matter:
     • Ask your suppliers to send you any information you may need: some suppliers can provide annual purchasing reports that include the quantities of each material.
     • Ask your sector association whether it has developed sector-specific tools to support you in the reporting process.
     • Take advantage of all the deductions to which you are entitled to and be sure to have adequate and verifiable supporting documents.
     • Organize the materials you are including in your report by category and subcategory.
     • Document your methodology and data sources.

For a methodology adapted to your activity sector, please choose the profile that suits you best:

Retailer

Distributor

Manufacturer

Service company

Restaurant

For future reporting:

1. Determine whether any changes to your activities may impact the materials you generate, such as:
   • new product lines and brands
   • new lines of business
   • new services (online orders, etc.)
   • new print advertising campaign
2. Determine whether new products (SKU) were considered in the report.
3. Update the weights and materials of containers, packaging and printed matter.

Below is a list of sources from which you may obtain the information you need to fill out your report.

Containers and packaging

• Purchase invoices for supplies

• Sales reports

• Information on packaging components, unitary weights

• Internal specifications on packaging and databases

• Reports from your packaging suppliers

• Third-party databases which include information on the unitary weights that companies with similar products may apply

• When no data on unitary weights is available, you may need to weigh empty packaging

Printed matter

• Purchase invoices for supplies or advertising material
• Information provided by printers to determine the type of paper used and the quantities and weights of printed matter
• Information provided by branches and franchisees to determine the quantities of generated printed matter intended for consumers

Contributing companies that put materials on the market that reach or exceed the thresholds for postconsumer recycled content may benefit from a 20% credit applied to their basic contribution for certain materials. 

Eligibility criteria for the credit

*Post-consumer recycled content

Companies that report containers, packaging and printed matter that are eligible to the credit for post-consumer recycled content have to fill out the appropriate screen in the reporting portal. 

Conditions to obtain the credit

• Data must be entered on the credit screen when preparing your report
• All supporting documentation on each material for which you are requesting a credit must be. sent in no later than the date of the first instalment of your contribution.
  • All supporting documents submitted after that date will be rejected.
•  Supporting documentation must be deemed admissible
• The company’s entire contribution must be paid according to the established payment calendar.

What supporting documentation is required?

Printed matter

• Recognized certification (e.g. FSC recycled fiber content)
• Letter of confirmation from the supplier, along with   quantities and specifications on the type of material used (the supplier must address a copy of the letter directly to ÉEQ)
• ISO 14001 standards with recycled content specifically indicated.

Containers and packaging

• Recognized certification (e.g. FSC recycled fiber content);
• Letter of confirmation from the supplier, along with   quantities and specifications on the type of material used (the supplier must address a copy of the letter directly to ÉEQ);
• ISO 14001 standards with recycled content specifically indicated;
• BNQ standard 8952-911.

How is this credit granted to my company?

Eligible companies will receive a 20% credit based on the quantities of materials for which the credit was granted on a separate invoice issued in the year following the deadline to file a report. Note that the credit is applied to the balance of the next contribution.

If you are unable to obtain information on materials weight, use the calculators approved by ÉEQ. You may also contact your association to find out whether it has developed an ÉEQ-approved calculator.

Important note

To use an ÉEQ-approved calculator, you must first contact ÉEQ’s Company Services. Only companies that are not eligible to an exemption or a flat fee rate for low-volume producers may submit a request.

Fill out the application to use a calculator.

Pay particular attention to the classification of materials to be reported, since inaccuracies can significantly impact the amount of your contribution, as well as the development of the Schedule of Contributions.

ÉEQ has released a guide that will help you classify the containers, packaging and printed matter your company put into Québec’s market, providing you with concrete examples and tips.

Go to the materials guide

To make the classification process easier, use our tool to verify whether a material is exempted or to determine the class to which it belongs.

• You may fill out your report over the course of several sessions.
• Billing contacts may also be added;  they will receive a notification email when a new invoice is available following the filing of a report.
• While other contacts may access the company’s reports and invoices, the primary contact remains responsible for the Company Report.