An Ontario recycling body has fined three major battery manufacturers millions of dollars after they had not done enough to get used batteries recycled in 2023.
The Resource Product and Recovery Authority (RPRA) said it issued fines of $1 million to both Duracell and Energizer and $781,725 to Panasonic for failing to meet the 2023 management requirement for single-use batteries. (Duracell and Energizer were each fined well more than $2 million but the RPRA has a cap on fines of $1 million.)
The agency says that there were 5,259.16 tonnes of batteries supplied in Ontario in 2023 but only 22.03 per cent, or 1,443.53 tonnes, were recovered that year, with the stated goal being 40 per cent.
It initially reported that three companies had recovered 16 per cent of the batteries they had sold but a RPRA spokesperson noted that they had acquired additional credits to push their final performance to 19 per cent.
The three companies have 15 days tothe appeal the order to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Global News reached out to the three companies for comment. Energizer and Panasonic both declined to comment while Duracell did not respond to our request.
The RPRA was established by the province in 2016 and, among other things, it regulates Ontario’s circular economy laws, such as making sure items like electronics, batteries and tires are recovered and recycled rather than heading to landfills.
A note on its website says: “As of July 1, 2020, battery producers are individually accountable and financially responsible for collecting and reusing, refurbishing or recycling their batteries when consumers discard them.”
This is the first time the RPRA has fined battery manufacturers for failing to comply with recycling regulations.