Frequently Asked Questions

The Government of British Columbia has issued an amendment to the Recycling Regulation to include electronics equipment. The amendment requires all “first sellers” of designated electronics(computer equipment and TVs) to be part of an approved industry take-back and recycling program.

BC’s Return-It Electronics is a province-wide, end-of-life electronics recycling program available to all consumers and businesses in British Columbia. As of August 1^st, 2007, you can drop off any of the regulated products at designated collection sites without charge, and be assured they will be recycled responsibly.

The program launched across British Columbia on August 1, 2007.

The program is financed by an environmental handling fee (EHF) levied on the sale of new products in the designated categories. 100% of the program revenue will be used for the administration, collection, transportation, and responsible recycling of end-of-life electronics.

No. The cost of the program is not borne by general taxpayers, but by consumers and producers of designated electronics products.

The cost of the recycling program is not borne by general taxpayers, but by consumers and producers of designated electronics products. The environmental handling fee (EHF) levied on the sale of new products by the Industry and is used for the administration, collection, transportation, and responsible recycling of end-of-life electronics. The EHF is subject to both GST and PST. For further information on the PST rules and regulation please contact the Consumer Taxation Branch at 1-877-388-4440. For more information on GST please contact the Canada Revenue Agency at 1-800-959-5525.

A fee is applied to the purchase price of new desktop computers, computer monitors, notebook computers, desktop printers, fax machines, and televisions. That fee is used to pay for the recycling of all regulated items returned.

The following fees, effective August 1, 2009, will be charged on the sale of new electronics products:

• Display Devices – 29” and smaller $ 9.00
• Display Devices – 30” and larger $ 31.75
• Desktop Computers $ 5.50
• Portable Computers $ 1.20
• Desktop Printers $ 6.50
• Computer Peripherals $ 0.90

The environmental handling fee (EHF) charged on the sale of new electronics products included in the program may appear on your sales receipt.

The BC Return-It Electronics program is an important initiative for the environment. In February 2006 the BC provincial government amended the recycling regulation to require proper treatment of end-of-life electronics. Electronic waste can contain hazardous materials that could pose environmental problems in our landfill sites. The program is not funded by general taxpayers or the government, but by consumers, producers, retailers and distributors of electronics products. Many of the items returned by customers will be quite old (historic waste) or were produced by manufacturers no longer in business (orphan waste). Environmental Handling Fees (EHF) on the sale of new products assists in covering the costs of recycling historic and orphaned waste. The fee ensures that end-of-life electronics are processed responsibly and do not end up in our landfills or exported to developing nations.

The following ‘end-of-life’ items are accepted in the BC Return-It Electronics program:

Desktop Computers

Includes Central Processing Units (CPUs), mouse, keyboards, cables and other components within the computer. This includes desktop computers, desktop computers acting as servers, and all associated peripherals such as keyboards and cabling.

Notebook Computers

Includes portable computers such as notebook, laptop and tablet PCs.

Desktop Printers and Fax Machines

This includes printing devices that are designed to reside on a work surface, and includes various printing technologies, including Laser & LED (electrophotographic), ink jet, dot matrix, and "multi-function" or "all in one" devices that perform different tasks such as copy, scan, fax, print, etc.

Display Devices

Display devices include flat panel and tube technologies (CRT, Plasma, LCD, flat panel, rear projection, etc.) used for televisions, computer monitors and professional displays. 

Please go to our website for more detailed information electronicsrecyclingbc.ca

No, at this time stereos, CD players, DVD players and cell phones are not included in the program. Also not included are computers or televisions that are part of, bolted to, built in to vehicles, marine vessels, or commercial/industrial equipment.

‘End-of-life’ refers to used electronic items that are obsolete and un-useable electronic items that consumers have chosen to deliver to a Return-It Electronics Collection Site for recycling in this program.

Absolutely. While our program is designed to manage end-of-life electronic products that have exhausted their reuse potential, we strongly encourage users to first reuse their products. We recommend reusing within your own family first. If you choose to donate to a charity, be sure to research how the charity uses the equipment and how they will dispose of it when it is no longer useful. Make sure you have backed up your data and wiped your drives clean prior to donation or passing on your old electronics.

There will be no refund paid back to you when you return electronics for recycling as this is not a deposit program. Under the Return-It Electronics program, you can return your electronics at no charge and be assured they will be recycled responsibly.

You can bring them to a designated Return-It Electronics Collection Site. To find the collection site nearest you click here

Contact Encorp directly for assistance in organizing a large order delivery or pickup. Click here for more information or call 1-800-330-9767

Electronic waste contains valuable resources such as metals that can and should be recycled. In addition they can contain hazardous materials that could pose environmental problems in our landfill sites. This program ensures that electronics are processed and recycled in a safe and environmentally sound manner thereby keeping them out of landfills. This program also ensures that obsolete electronic components and electronic scrap is not exported to developing nations.

The program is being conducted by Electronics Stewardship Association of British Columbia (ESABC), an industry led, not-for-profit stewardship agency and is being managed and administered by Encorp Pacific (Canada), a federally incorporated not-for-profit product stewardship corporation.

Electronic waste - old, obsolete electronics - is piling up in our landfill sites. Most commodities found in electronic waste can be recycled and recovered. Steel, glass, copper, aluminum, plastic and precious metals can be extracted and reused in new products.

Electronic waste can contain hazardous materials such as lead, mercury and brominated flame retardants. These substances of concern build up over time and can cause environmental problems. The Industry (members of ESABC) continues to make advancements in the reduction and elimination of the use of some of these materials. The Return-It Electronics program ensures that returned end-of-life electronics containing these substances of concern will be kept out of landfills and will be recycled in a safe and responsible way.

ESABC is a BC based non-profit, multi-stakeholder organization created by EPS Canada which itself is a joint effort of the Information Technology Association of Canada and Electro-Federation Canada. ESABC is comprised of representatives from the information technology and retail sector with a vested interest in a common goal to reduce the environmental footprint of IT and consumer electronics products at their end-of-life period. EPSC consists of more than 20 leading Canadian electronics manufacturers working together to promote, design and implement sustainable solutions for the recycling of end-of-life electronics. epsc.ca

Encorp Pacific was selected for this program because of their experience in environmental stewardship. Encorp Pacific’s mandate on behalf of ESABC is to develop and manage a consumer-friendly and cost-effective system to recover regulated electronics products from consumers and ensure that they are recycled in a safe and environmentally-sound manner and not landfilled or shipped to developing nations.

Following collection, designated end-of-life equipment will be moved to consolidation sites in selected areas of the province where transport-efficient loads of sorted material types will be assembled. Full loads of collected designated end-of-life material are then transported to approved processing and recycling contractors. All recyclers will be under contract with ESABC and required to meet Electronics Product Stewardship Canada (EPSC) Recycling Vendor Qualification Standards to ensure materials are processed in an environmentally sound manner with appropriate health, safety and export provisions.

epsc.ca/recycle

For detailed information, click here

Once an electronic item has been delivered to an authorized Return-It Electronics Collection Site it will not be reused, all items collected will be recycled. For your own personal security you should take steps to ensure that no private data remains on your computer. When you recycle your end-of-life electronics every effort will be made to ensure the privacy and security of any personal information, however the Return-It System, and ESABC can accept no liability for any data that remains on the computer.

The electronics industry in Canada, including the members of ESABC, are developing initiatives to reduce the impact of electronics on the environment. Efforts focus on five key areas of improvement: chemical management; energy efficiency; materials management; design for recycling; and product expandability. Specific examples include altering designs to produce longer-lasting, more energy-efficient and less-polluting equipment, producing more environmentally sound products by moving to eliminate environmentally sensitive chemicals, developing and manufacturing devices that deliver more functionality, and reduce costs and resources needed in production, packaging, transportation and end-of-life management. For more information, visit epsc.ca. From here you can find links to each member companies and environmental information.

The list of products currently accepted at Return-It Electronics sites is set by legislation. A specific number of product types were chosen to phase-in the program, and they were determined by which products had the largest quantities requiring recycling and contained the largest amount of recoverable materials.

Over time, the legislation will be reviewed and more products will likely be added to the program. In fact, the BC Ministry of Environment has announced its intention to add additional end-of-life electronic items to the regulation.

First, ensure that the product is listed as an acceptable product in the Return-It Electronics program. "Broken" or damaged items may be refused due to safety concerns.

Next, make sure you are taking your acceptable items to a designated Return-It Electronics collection site. Not all Return-It Depots are part of the electronics recycling program.

Finally, if you have an item that is still not being accepted, please contact Tyler at tyler@encorpinc.com for assistance.

The collection of End-of-Life Electronics at most collection sites in the province does not currently allow for the acceptance of “broken” or smashed televisions or computer screens.

“Broken” televisions or computer screens refers to those items where the screens are smashed, and includes bare television tubes, and does not refer to the items’ operability.

Televisions and computer monitor with “broken” screens are considered Hazardous Materials as defined by provincial regulations and as such, must be handled in a different manner.

In the lower mainland of B.C., there are two locations which can now accept “broken” televisions and computer screens.

These two locations are:

• Ralph’s Auto Supply: 12011 Mitchell Road, Richmond, BC
• Ralph’s Auto Supply: 10535 120^th Street, Surrey, BC

Return-It Electronics collection sites are regulated and monitored to ensure all electronics are recycled in a responsible manner, in their entirety, and that none of the materials are exported to third-world countries. Other electronics recyclers not part of this program cannot necessarily provide the same assurance.

Return-It Electronics does not directly offer pick-up services at this time. However, many retailers will offer to take your old device away, sometimes for a fee, upon delivery of a new device purchased from them. These retailers will then take your old device to a designated Return-It Electronics collection site on your behalf.

Many people don't realize this, but smelting is the process by which metals are extracted from recycled products to ensure they don't make it into the environment. The lead, mercury, copper and other metals reclaimed by this process are then reused in new products.

For more information, please visit www.esabc.ca.

No. Once a device has been taken to a Return-It Electronics collection site, it will be recycled in its entirety in an environmentally responsible manner. This is the purpose of the Return-It Electronics program.

However, we do encourage the reuse of unwanted electronic items if they are still of service. Such devices should be given, sold or traded rather than being taken to a Return-It Electronics site. Encorp and ESABC help sponsor the BC Materials Exhange (www.bcemex.ca) to assist in product reuse. Our website also provides helpful information on selecting a reuse organization.