A Retailer’s Guide to Packaging EPR Requirements in Canada

A Retailer’s Guide to Packaging EPR Requirements in Canada

Your ultimate guide to navigating Canada's complex packaging EPR regulations and keeping your retail business compliant.

Access Retailer’s Guide to Packaging EPR Requirements in Canada

Access Retailer’s Guide to Packaging EPR Requirements in Canada
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This guide helps retailers understand packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) compliance in Canada. As EPR laws shift responsibility for managing packaging waste to producers (including retailers), businesses must navigate varying provincial and territorial regulations.

Whether you operate physical stores, e‑commerce, or both, this resource clarifies your obligations and which packaging materials require reporting.

Inside This Resource, You’ll Learn:

  • Why you must track, report, and pay fees on packaging, and how requirements vary across jurisdictions.
  • The distinctions between packaging types and how they determine your reporting responsibilities.
  • Which shipping materials are reportable (from boxes to protective materials), and who reports product versus shipping packaging.
  • If in-store displays and promotional packaging fall under EPR regulations.
  • Importer responsibilities, third-party sellers, small business exemptions, and reusable packaging treatment.

Key Questions Covered

  • What is Packaging EPR, and how does it impact retailers?
  • What are primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging?
  • What do e‑commerce retailers need to know?
  • Are retail-specific materials like store displays covered?
  • What about imports, marketplaces, and exemptions?

Real-World Scenarios

The guide includes practical examples, from fresh bakery items to white-label products and branded packaging, explaining your specific EPR obligations.

Download the Complete Guide

Get the full resource for detailed packaging classifications, jurisdiction-specific insights, and actionable compliance strategies backed by RLG’s 30+ years of EPR expertise.

Disclaimer: This resource should not replace professional legal counsel—always consult qualified legal professionals for current information specific to your situation.

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Les Griffith - Speakers

Business Development Director
RLGA

Les Griffith is currently the Business Development Director at RLGA and is tasked with expanding the company’s data management offerings for packaging EPR in the Americas. Les has over 30 years of industry experience in Environmental Services, Extended Producer Responsibility and Reverse Distribution. Les has spent these last 30 years working with organizations to develop progressively more sustainable solutions to the management of end-of-life materials. Prior to joining RLG, Les spent eleven years at Covanta most recently serving as the Business Development Director for the Healthcare Solutions division. His group covered North and Central America and specialized in providing a suite of services to healthcare PROs, take-back services to retail pharmacy and law enforcement and environmental services to the healthcare sector and reverse distributors. Prior to Covanta Les spent 10 years at Waste Management Inc. as an Area Manager for their Healthcare Solutions group.

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Andriana Kontovrakis - Speakers

Director of Compliance Services
RLG

Andriana Kontovrakis is the Director of Compliance Services for Reverse Logistics Group’s US team.  She manages a team responsible for ensuring manufacturer and retailer customer compliance with EPR laws for electronics, batteries, packaging, household hazardous wastes, and other consumer products across the US. Along with RLG partner the Household and Commercial Products Association, she is spearheading the development of the Household Product Stewardship Alliance, a stewardship organization forming under the guidelines of Vermont’s HHW EPR law.  Prior to working with RLG, she was a Policy Analyst with the global electronics recycler Sims Lifecycle Solutions where she managed programmatic implementation and customer and supplier accounts for the US EPR compliance unit and the Deputy Director for Waste Prevention for the NYC Department of Sanitation.

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