The British Columbia Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy has approved the program plan with conditions for PCA’s BC Lamps and Lighting Equipment Stewardship Program, by letter dated Nov. 13, 2018. The plan remains in effect until April 23, 2022 (the anniversary date of the original 2012 plan). PCA is required to submit a new program plan every five years. A copy of the program plan and approval letter has been posted on PCA’s website, www.productcare.org.
The Minister’s approval letter contains a number of conditions, including the following requirements which must be completed by December 31, 2019:
- Complete satisfactory consultation with stakeholders to meet the requirements set out in sections 5(1)(c)(i) and (vi), taking into consideration guidance provided in the Recycling Regulation Guide 2012 and Producers Paying the Cost of Managing Obligated Materials and Dispute Resolution 2018;
- Submit to the director a stakeholder consultation summary document; and
- Propose amendments to the plan that address regulatory requirements and outcomes of the consultations.
These same conditions have been applied by the ministry to PCA’s paint/HHW plan and to other (but not all) program plans filed by other EPR programs. Depending on the outcome of the analysis/methodology/consultation, there could be significant impact on the program’s operations costs. In addition, the approved stewardship plan was revised by PCA, following the initial comments received from the ministry, to include a number of changes and improvements including:
- An annual consumer awareness level of 70%.
- A minimum 95% accessibility rate for all four lighting product categories.
- Participating in all waste composition studies committed to by the Stewardship Agencies of BC and reporting annually on the number and location of waste audits conducted, the kilograms per capita of Program Product identified and the total amount of batteries found in program products in each waste audit.
If you have any concerns or comments, please email Tatum van Soelen, Program Coordinator at tvansoelen@productcare.org.