The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks has launched a public consultation on proposed regulatory amendments that would affect how tires and hazardous materials are collected, recycled and enforced across the province.
The proposed changes fall under Ontario’s Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 and target three existing regulations: the Tires Regulation, the Hazardous and Special Products (HSP) Regulation, and the Administrative Penalties (AP) Regulation.
If adopted, the amendments would introduce new operational requirements for producers and tighten enforcement mechanisms within Ontario’s extended producer responsibility framework.
Under the Tires Regulation, the province is proposing to expand the current “call-in” collection requirement and introduce a new rule requiring collected tires to be managed within three months of pickup. The move is intended to improve the timeliness and accountability of tire recycling and processing.
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Changes to the HSP Regulation would revise recycling efficiency rate (RER) requirements and clarify rules around collection sites. The ministry says these updates aim to strengthen performance expectations and reduce ambiguity for producers managing materials such as household hazardous waste.
The most significant enforcement-related proposal appears in the Administrative Penalties Regulation, where the province is considering removing the existing $1-million cap on administrative penalties. The change would give regulators greater flexibility to impose higher fines for non-compliance.
Beyond the specific amendments, the ministry is also seeking feedback on broader potential changes that could affect other producer responsibility regulations. These include allowing producer responsibility organizations (PROs) to share collection sites, enabling the trading of performance credits, and introducing measures to boost Ontario-based processing of recovered materials.
The consultation is open for 30 days, from April 2 to May 2, through the province’s Environmental Registry of Ontario.
Stakeholders, including producers, municipalities and waste management operators, are encouraged to review the proposals and submit feedback as the province continues to refine its circular economy framework.
For more details or to provide feedback, visit the Environmental Registry of Ontario.
Related Professional Development Event
Learn about changes to environmental regulations, including PFAS, waste, extended producer responsibility, administrative penalties and much more at the CANECT Environmental Compliance and Due Diligence Training Event taking place in Vaughan, Ontario, from April 28–29, 2026.
For over 30 years, CANECT has been Canada’s leading training and networking event for environmental compliance and due diligence professionals. Explore the course topics and see who is speaking at: www.canect net
