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Provincial Environmental Recycling or Deposit Fees - FAQ's
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| What is the Provincial Environmental Recycling Fee? |
Some electronics products are subject to an environmental handling fee as required by your provincial government.The collected fees are used to support provincial recycling and disposal programs. Electronics recycling fees are collected on products made with materials such as lead, cadmium and mercury, which are hazardous to people and the environment. Staples Professional charges an electronics recycling fee on products that are purchased in provinces or territories where we are required to do so by law. The electronics recycling fee amount varies based on product and province or territory.
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| How are these Fees charged/displayed? |
These fees are systematically displayed during the checkout process when applicable. Please note that the fees are different as mandated by the Provincial Regulations.
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| What happens if I return a product that was charged a Fee? |
The fee will be refunded if you return a product for which the fee was applicable.
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| What are the Fees used for? |
The program is funded by fees paid to the EPRA or the designate Steward Association from the manufacturers (brand owners), Distributors or the importers of designated electronic equipment or products with applied fees. These funds are used exclusively to pay for collection, transportation, warehousing and processing of electronic waste as well as research promotion and education initiatives to encourage greater electronic equipment reuse and recycling.
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| Why is there a fee on new electronics? |
While there are numerous benefits to recycling electronics, there is a financial cost. The value of materials found in electronics is generally less than the combined cost of collecting, sorting, dismantling and transporting them, especially when it comes to difficult materials such as glass from old cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions, which contain lead.
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Environmental handling fees collected on new electronics go into the GNWT Environment Fund to cover the costs of operating the Electronics Recycling Program (the Program). Through these fees, the cost of electronics recycling is shifted from general taxpayers (i.e. community and municipal government budgets) to electronics users.
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There is no charge to drop off electronics for recycling to local drop off depots or collection by our Staples Professional Drivers.
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| How do fees compare in all regions of Canada? |
Fees in other programs generally started high and went down over time once the programs were established and older electronics, which are more expensive to recycle, were collected.
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Alberta’s program is the oldest in Canada. It has been running for more than 10 years and current fees have been reduced significantly to draw down the fund that has built up over the years.
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Fees are reviewed and adjusted regularly by all the Stewardship organizations, Staples Professional adjust them as directed by the Stewardship Associations.
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More Information
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