Rules

Much of the information published elsewhere on the site can be found in the Rules, which are released periodically in advance of any program or fee changes. An indispensable reference tool and resource, the Rules spell out the:

• Criteria governing designation as a steward
• Provisions surrounding the submission of quarterly reports and the associated timetable
• Penalties and interest due for non-payment, as well as instructions on dealing with record provision and retention, dispute resolution and other general issues
• Conditions to determine if you are a “resident in Ontario” for the purposes of the program
• Material definitions for each, including examples and inclusions, the reporting category, the unit of measure and fee rate
• Steps involved in identifying the correct reporting category for MSHW materials with multiple properties
• Measured return share (MRS) process for calculating fees for banned or obsolete MHSW materials, such as mercury devices, or for materials for which stewards have yet to be identified
• Cost components associated with developing and implementing the program
• Definitions of key terms used in the Rules 

Effective April 1, 2012 revised MHSW Program Rules reflect Ontario Regulation 11/12 which also comes into effect April 1st. Regulation 11/12, issued by the Minister of the Environment in early February, prescribes that Stewardship Ontario apply a steward share methodology to recover both ongoing operating costs and deficits that have accumulated over the course of the program. The new methodology for determining and allocating program costs to stewards replaces the familiar unit/volume-based fee methodology and is essentially a share-of-cost calculation that is based on share-of-sales reported.

To review the revised Rules, please click here.

2012 Fees

Stewardship Ontario will no longer calculate and publish a fee schedule that sets out fee rates per unit/volume because Ontario Regulation 11/12 requires stewards to pay quarterly invoices based on actual costs for the quarter. Unlike static fee schedules, these costs are expected to fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on volume and seasonality of materials collected. Beginning in Q2 (April, 2012) each steward will receive a quarterly invoice from Stewardship Ontario that sets out their share of costs for that quarter, which is calculated on the basis of their company’s individual share of the total quantities reported to Stewardship Ontario.