Frequently Asked Questions

Regulated electronic items can be recycled free of charge at any Return-It^TM collection site. The associated Environmental Handling Fees (EHF) are charged at the time of purchase.

ESABC is a not-for-profit extended producer responsibility program set up by the major producers and retailers of electronics in British Columbia to provide a province wide recycling system for unwanted electronics available to all consumers and businesses in BC. The ESABC program is designed to shift the responsibility for the environmentally safe and socially responsible recycling of unwanted products from BC taxpayers (through municipalities and regional districts) to the producers and consumers of these products.

The program is financed by an environmental handling fee (EHF) remitted by member producers, distributors and retailers on new regulated products sold in BC. 100% of the program revenue is used for the administration, collection, transportation, and responsible recycling of unwanted electronics.

ESABC’s electronics program provides an environmentally sound recycling option for unwanted electronics providing assurance that these items will not be landfilled or illegally exported. You can drop off any of the acceptable products at designated Return-It^TM Electronics Collection Sites without charge, and be assured they will be recycled responsibly.

The EHF is not a tax and none of the funds collected go to the government. The cost of the program is not borne by taxpayers but by consumers, producers, retailers and distributors of electronic products.

ESABC has contracted with Encorp Pacific to deliver the stewardship program under their Return-It^TM brand. Encorp Pacific’s mandate on behalf of ESABC is to 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.

As of July 1, 2010, the ESABC stewardship program has expanded to include more regulated products. Among the newly accepted products are computer scanners, non-cellular telephones, and a variety of home and portable audio/visual products such as VHS players, stereo systems. For the full list please visit return-it.ca/electronics/acceptable.

Environmental Handling Fees (EHF) on the sale of new products assist in covering the cost of responsible recycling of electronics currently in the waste stream. Many of the products dropped off at the Return-It^TM Collection Sites are old or produced by companies who are no longer in business. The EHF covers the cost of regulating all electronic products including historic and orphaned waste.

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 HST. For further information on HST please visit http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/taxchange/index.html

There is no refund paid back to you when you return electronics for recycling as this is not a deposit program. Under the ESABC Stewardship Program, you can return your electronics free of charge to Return-It^TM collection site and be assured they will be recycled responsibly.

Fees are calculated by product category to cover the cost to collect and process the existing unwanted electronics being managed by the program. 100% of the EHF is used for the administration, collection and responsible recycling of regulated electronic products.

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

There are more than 100 convenient locations in BC. Visit www.return-it.ca/electronics/locations to find a Return-It™ collection site nearest you.

Following collection, consolidated electronics are moved to approved processing and recycling contractors. All recyclers are 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. Find the qualification standards at epsc.ca/recycle

Electronics collected in BC for recycling are sent to approved primary recyclers in North America. These items are broken down using various manual and mechanical processes. Products such as batteries and mercury lamps, which require special processing to recover materials, are removed. The remaining products are separated into their individual components for recovery.

Through a variety of refining and smelting processes, the materials reclaimed from unwanted electronics are used as raw materials in the manufacturing of new products.

For your own personal security you need to take adequate steps to ensure that no private data remains on your electronic products prior to donation or return to a Collection Site. Once an electronic item has been delivered to a Return-It™ collection site it will not be reused, all items collected will be recycled. When you recycle your unwanted electronics every effort will be made to ensure the privacy and security of any personal information; however, the Return-It System, Encorp or ESABC does not accept liability for any data that remains on your electronic products.

Pick up services for large volumes of unwanted electronics is provided at no cost provided certain requirements have been met. Requirements can be found at www.return-it.ca/largevolume

Monitors and televisions with smashed screens are considered hazardous materials under provincial regulations and can only be accepted at specific locations as they require special handling procedures. Find these locations at www.return-it.ca/specialhandling

These refer to used electronic items that are obsolete and un-useable electronic items that consumers have chosen to deliver to a Return-It^TM Electronics collection site for recycling in this program.

Absolutely. While our program is designed to manage unwanted 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.

Electronics producers have undertaken various initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of their products, several key areas of improvement include: chemical management; energy efficiency; materials management; design for recycling; and product expandability. For more information, visit www.epsc.ca. From here you can find links to each member’s company and environmen­tal information.

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.

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.

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.