Retailer
The majority of Ontarians believe improper disposal of electronic waste is a concern. As a retailer, you may be the first point of contact for people looking for the nearest location to drop off their used electronic products or asking other questions about the OES program.
You may be one of many retailers that has joined our valuable network of service provider partners and/or be among the retailers that currently charge an Environmental Handling Fee (EHF) or "eco fee" at the point of purchase.
In any case, as a retailer, you play a critical role in helping Ontarians view their end-of-life electronics for what they are: something that should never go to landfill and a resource that can be recycled, reused or refurbished. That’s why we offer resources designed to help retail partners serve their customers in a way that’s efficient and cost effective.
- OES can help partner with retailers to host special collection events.
- Retailers may become OES-approved collectors and benefit from receiving promotion and logistical support for their efforts, as well as a collection incentive for the materials they collect OR
- Retailers may participate as affiliates, collecting some or all OES materials through their relationship with an OES-approved processor.
About Environmental Handling Fees
OES encourages any retailer that does apply an EHF at the point of purchase to educate your staff about the program, to be clear about which electronics are accepted and never charge more than the steward fees for each accepted material. Click for information on EHF for unwanted electronics.
Important: New Steward Fees Took Effect August 1, 2011
Effective August 1, 2011 OES stewards report on and remit different fees for most of the materials for which they are obligated. This may affect some companies which sell computer equipment and televisions and who are also stewards, remitters or sub-remitters. We updated the EHF brochure to help you and your staff to answer questions from your customers. We also created a brochure for Retailers or Merchants to specifically help educate your staff about OES and EHF charges.
Steward fees were reduced for all materials excluding:
- desktop printing, copying and multi-function devices
- floor-standing printing devices
- floor-standing copying and multi-function devices
- telephones and telephone answering machines.
OES presented details about the change in a webcast at the end of June. Click here for: June 29 Steward Fee webcast materials. Additional information including brochures for retail and online sales staff and for consumers, is available at the red "Environmental Handling Fees" icon. If you have any questions please contact our office toll-free at 1-888-646-1820, ext. 2 or by email to service@ontarioelectronicstewardship.ca.
Simply put, unwanted electronics and electrical equipment that are still useful can be dropped off at OES-approved reuse and refurbishment organizations and at Affiliate sites.
Customers looking for nearby collection sites, accepted electronics, and day and hours of operation, can visit www.recycleyourelectronics.ca. There they can search by type of waste, community or postal code. The website also has lots of information about the program, including 3R tips and an FAQ page.
Retailers who are also “Stewards”
As a retailer, you may also qualify as a steward. Visit the Stewards, Remitters & Sub-Remitters section of this website to see if you have an obligation under Ontario’s Waste Diversion Act. Or, use our Steward Obligation Decision Tool to determine if you qualify.
Retailers who collect recyclables
Many retailers also help out as “collectors” or affiliates in the OES network. A “collector” is a private sector or non-profit operation or government organization that is approved to collect accepted materials on behalf of OES. An OES Affiliate is a private sector, non-profit or government organization who contracts directly with and is registered by an OES-Approved Processor to handle their residential and/or IC&I electronic waste produced in Ontario.
Should you wish to host a community event or set-up an in-store drop-off counter, you can read the information in the Collector or Affiliate sections of this website.
