Ontario does not have a single, standardized tire recycling fee. The amount consumers see at the point of sale can vary depending on the tire producer, supplier, retailer and the compliance service model used by a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO). This means a fee charged at the register is not a province-wide recycling rate.
This overview explains how tire recycling fees work in Ontario, where eTracks fits in, and why accurate fee attribution matters for producers, retailers and consumers.
How Tire Recycling Is Managed in Ontario
Ontario tire recycling has been regulated under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 (RRCEA) since 2018 and operates under an Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) model. Under the Tires Regulation, tire producers – including manufacturers, automakers and importers – are responsible for managing the collection and recycling of the tires they supply into the Ontario market. To meet their regulatory obligations, most tire producers work with a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO), such as eTracks, to support compliance, logistics and reporting. PROs are not government entities; they are private businesses operating in a competitive market. The PRO market is diverse, with five of the six PROs operating as for-profit entities, some vertically integrated and some backed by private equity. eTracks is the only not-for-profit PRO, with 93% of revenue directed back into managing its scrap tire recycling supply chain on behalf of its producer customers.
Key context: Ontario is the only province in Canada that manages tire recycling under an IPR model in a competitive PRO market. All other provinces use one PRO or one stewardship organization with standard recycling fees applied to tires at the point of purchase. At the heart of all systems is a desire to manage waste into resources, and as a result Canada has some of the highest tire recycling rates in the world.
How eTracks Charges Producer Customers for Services
How eTracks Charges Producer Customers for ServiceseTracks charges producer customers compliance service fees that cover the real costs of managing end-of-life tires, including collection, hauling, processing and regulatory compliance activities required to meet a producer’s Minimum Management Target and operate a producer collection network across the province. These fees apply only to eTracks producer customers, which today represent 68.9% of Ontario’s scrap tire market. At times eTracks fees are attributed as “Ontario tire recycling fees” which is inaccurate. eTracks does not collect fees from the remaining 31% of Ontario’s registered tire producers. eTracks fees could reasonably be passed through the supply chain on 68.9% of tires sold by registered producers in Ontario, while any fees charged on the remaining share come from other sources.
From One Recycling Fee to a Multi-PRO System
Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS) was wound up in 2018, ending the one-fee approach to paying for tire recycling in the province. Where one organization once managed the supply chain and associated costs, multiple PROs now operate in a competitive market. The amount charged at the point of sale is shaped by business decisions made across the supply chain by tire producers, retailers and six active Ontario tire PROs with different pricing and service models.
Producers decide whether to pass PRO service fees through their sales and distribution networks, and retailers and distributors decide how those costs appear to consumers. A PRO may provide end-to-end or partial compliance support to a producer, meaning producers may need to engage with more than one PRO for compliance support. eTracks offers a simplified service model, where one fee supports all tire compliance requirements and related services, including collection site services, for its producer customers.
Highlight:
“Businesses will continue to have discretion over whether they charge a fee to recover the cost of recycling their products. However, with this amendment, if they charge a fee, they are no longer required to provide information about who is charging the fee and what it will be used for.” – excerpt from RPRA’s Environmental Fees on Products Sold in Ontariopage.
How Every Dollar is Spent
Fees charged in the market may come from different sources and cannot be automatically attributed to one organization, as they were when a single organization managed tire recycling in Ontario. Understanding how Ontario’s competitive PRO system operates helps ensure tire recycling fees are discussed accurately and attributed appropriately, supporting greater transparency for producers, retailers and consumers. eTracks continues to use 93% of its revenue to service the Ontario tire recycling system; diverting millions of tires from landfill each year.
