Frequently Asked Questions

New tires are supplied into Ontario in two ways – on new vehicles or as loose tires. In both cases, section 3 of the Tires Regulation defines tire producers in accordance with a hierarchy based on residency in Ontario, which means a person having a permanent establishment in Ontario within the meaning of the Corporations Tax Act:

For new loose tires that are marketed to consumers in Ontario
For new tires in Ontario: you are the producer for those new tires if you are the brand holder of the new tires (the legislation defines brand holder to mean a person who owns or licenses a brand or who otherwise has rights to market a product under the brand) and resident in Ontario.

For new tires where there is no brand holder resident in Ontario: you are the producer for the new tires if you are the importer of those new tires and resident in Ontario.

For new tires where there is no brand holder or importer resident in Ontario: you are the producer for the new tires if you are the first person to market those tires in Ontario and resident in Ontario.

For new tires where there is no brand holder, importer or marketer resident in Ontario: you are the producer for the new tires if you are the person that marketed those new tires and non-resident in Ontario.

For new vehicles with tires that are marketed to consumers in Ontario
For new vehicles in Ontario: you are the producer for the new tires on those new vehicles if you are the manufacturer of the vehicles (the legislation defines vehicle to include motor vehicles, muscular-powered equipment and trailers) and resident in Ontario.

For new vehicles where there is no manufacturer resident in Ontario: you are the producer for the new tires on those new vehicles if you are the importer of those new vehicles and resident in Ontario.

For new vehicles where there is no manufacturer or importer resident in Ontario: you are the producer for the new tires on those new vehicles if you are the marketer of those new vehicles in Ontario and resident in Ontario.

For new vehicles where there is no manufacturer, importer or marketer resident in Ontario: you are the producer for the new tires on those new vehicles if you are the marketer of those new vehicles and non-resident in Ontario.

If you are required to pay a fee during registration or when you are providing an annual data report for Batteries, Tires, and/or Electronics you can select from one of the following payment methods:

• Bank withdrawal (pre-authorized debit)
• Credit card
• Electronic data interchange (EDI)
• Electronic bill
• Cheque

If you are required to pay a fee during manual registration for Blue Box and/or Hazardous and Special Products, you can select from one of the following payment methods:

• Electronic data interchange (EDI)
• Electronic bill
• Cheque

Instructions for submitting your payment are provided during the registration process.

We recommend using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge or Apple Safari when accessing the Registry. If you are experiencing an issue with the Registry, try updating the browser to the latest version.

If you are using a different browser, the Registry will not function.

You should use the address where you carry on business. If you carry on business in more than one location in Ontario, use the main address for your business in Ontario. If you do not have an Ontario address, use the address that relates to the activities you carry out in Ontario.

You are a tire collector if you operate a tire collection site where more than 1000 kgs of tires are collected in a year. A tire collection site is a location where used tires are collected, including:

• Repair shops, garages and vehicle dealerships (where used tires are collected as part of changing tires for customers)
• Auto salvage and recycling sites
• Any other site where end-of-life vehicles with tires are managed

You are not a tire collector if you operate a tire collection site where you:

• Also retread tires or process tires (you would be a tire retreader or a tire processor for those sites); or
• Only collect tires from the on-site servicing of vehicles that you own or operate (such as a site where you service your rental car fleet)

Municipalities can choose to operate collection sites, but they are exempt from registering with RPRA. For more information about municipal sites see: How does the Tires Regulation affect municipalities and First Nations?

You are a tire processor if you receive and process tires for resource recovery or disposal. Processing means you are transforming tires into their constituent parts, including by shredding, chipping, grinding, cutting or cryogenic crushing. You are also a tire processor if you engage in activities to chemically alter tires, such as depolymerization.

You are a tire retreader if you replace the tread on worn tires so that they can continue to be used as tires.

You are a tire hauler if you transport tires in Ontario to a site for processing, reuse, retreading or disposal.

Producers will be required to pay a program fee as part of the registration process, which supports the Authority’s operations. Program fees cover the Authority’s costs related to building and operating the electronic Registry, and compliance and enforcement activities.

For more information, refer to the 2022 RRCEA Program Fee Schedule for Batteries, Blue Box, ITT/AV, HSP, Lighting, and Tires.

To register as a PRO, contact the Compliance and Registry Team at registry@rpra.ca or call 647-496-0530 or toll-free 1-833-600-0530.

As a retailer, you may also be a producer and/or a collector, based on the definitions in the Tires Regulation.

Promotion and education requirements will have to be met under section 13 of the Tires Regulation, if you have a website. This includes clearly displaying on the website:

• that the consumer may return tires to the site at no charge, if the retailer is a collection site; or
• the locations of tire collection sites near each retail location, if the retailer is not a collection site

Retailers can choose whether to charge a fee on the sale of new tires in Ontario to recover the costs associated with end of life collection and management. If you choose to charge a fee, such as a resource recovery fee or a tire handling fee, it may be added to the price of the product or charged as a visible fee. Businesses must be honest about what the fee is for and the amount cannot be arbitrary. A visible fee cannot be referred to as a tax.

If you collect used tires at your site as a result of onsite servicing of your vehicles, you are not a tire collector for the purposes of the Tires Regulation and you are exempt from registering as a collector with RPRA.

No. If a municipality has a private company operating a site on their behalf, the company is not required to register the municipally-owned sites as long as the tires are picked up by a registered hauler and delivered to a registered processor or retreader.

If the private company owns or operates collection sites that are not owned by a municipality, it is required to register and report its non-municipally-owned sites.

To ensure tires continue to be picked up from your sites, you will need to make sure those sites are included in the collection systems established by tire producers or producer responsibility organizations (PROs). Since most producers will work with PROs to establish their collection systems, municipalities should contact a registered PRO.

Visit our webpage about PROs for more information.

No. Municipalities that collect used tires are exempt from the requirement to register with RPRA as a collector or submit reports. Furthermore, there is no requirement for a municipality to establish a tire collection site. Note that a municipality that hauls tires is required to register as a hauler. Read How does the Tires Regulation affect municipalities? for more information.

Resident in Ontario means a person having a permanent establishment in Ontario within the meaning of the Corporations Tax Act. A permanent establishment is usually a fixed place of business such as an office, factory, branch, warehouse, workshop, etc. In some cases, a corporation will be deemed to operate a permanent establishment in Ontario. These include cases where:

• The corporation produced, grew, mined, created, manufactured, fabricated, improved, packed, preserved or constructed anything in the province, in whole or in part;
• The corporation carries on business through an employee or agent in the province who has general authority to contract for the corporation; or
• The corporation carries on business through an employee or agent in the province who has a stock of merchandise owned by the corporation from which they regularly fill orders that they receive.
• A corporation will also have a permanent establishment in Ontario if it uses substantial machinery or equipment in the province, or if it is has a permanent establishment elsewhere in Canada and owns land in the province.

For more details about what constitutes a permanent establishment, see the definition of “permanent establishment” in the Corporations Tax Act.

You will have to meet the registration requirements for every category that applies to you.

For regulatory purposes, we need to know your legal name — the name you are incorporated under.  We also need to know your business operating name if it is different from your legal business name to add to our published list of registrants. The list of registrants will be available on our website to allow registrants to interact with one another and to provide information to the public.

For example, if you are a registered collector and your legal name is 123456789 Ontario Ltd. and your business operating name is “Jack’s Garage,” a member of the public looking for a place to drop off used tires will need to know the name you are operating under to identify your location.

RPRA does not vet PROs before listing them on the website. Any business that registers as a PRO will be listed. Producers should do their own due diligence when determining which PRO to work with.

Account Admins must add any new, or manage existing, Primary Contacts under the program they wish to give them access to in order for the Primary Contact to be able to submit a report (e.g., permissions to view and complete reports).

To Manage contacts on your Registry account, please see the following steps:

1. Log into your account
2. Once you are logged in, click on the drop-down arrow in the top right corner and select Manage Users
3. Under Actions, click Manage to update preferences of existing users
4. Click Add New User to add an additional contact to your account
5. To give reporting access to a Primary Contact, select the program from the drop-down that you would like to grant them access to

No, only producers are required to pay RPRA program fees.  The decision to make producers pay fees and cover the Authority’s costs was made to reflect the fact that the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 (RRCEA) is based on a producer responsibility framework. Although producers may hire service providers to help meet their obligations, the responsibility remains with the producer.