Under the Federal Plastics Registry, the company that physically manufactures plastic packaging is not always the company required to report it.
This can be counterintuitive.
In ordinary business language, a packaging “producer” may sound like the company that makes the packaging. Under the FPR, however, the reporting party depends on the specific producer rules and the role each company plays in the supply chain.
For plastic packaging, reporting responsibility often sits with the brand owner, especially where packaging is manufactured specifically for that brand owner or according to that brand owner’s specifications.
In that case, the brand owner may be responsible for reporting the packaging, even if another company physically manufactured it.
Generic packaging may be different
The analysis can change where the packaging is generic.
If a company manufactures or imports generic unfilled packaging, with no specific brand owner or buyer in mind, and that packaging is later bought and used by another company, the manufacturer or importer may have reporting obligations for the unfilled packaging.
For a practical Q&A that addresses private label and generic packaging scenarios, see our related post: Clarification regarding producer responsibility for unfilled packaging under the Federal Plastics Registry.
This distinction matters because many companies assume that reporting responsibility follows manufacturing activity. Under the FPR, that is not always the case.
Filled and unfilled packaging
Packaging can also create reporting considerations in more than one form.
Unfilled packaging is packaging before it contains the product it is intended to hold, protect, or deliver.
Filled packaging is packaging after it has been filled with a product and placed on the market.
Depending on the facts, reporting responsibility may apply to unfilled packaging, filled packaging, or both.
For example, a company that manufactures generic unfilled packaging may have reporting obligations for that unfilled packaging. A brand owner or other party that later fills packaging and places it on the Canadian market may have a separate reporting obligation for the filled packaging.
In other cases, where packaging is manufactured specifically for a brand owner, the brand owner may be responsible for both the unfilled and filled packaging.
Questions to ask
When assessing packaging obligations under the FPR, companies should look beyond the question of who made the packaging.
The more useful questions are:
- Who owns or controls the brand?
- Was the packaging generic or made for a specific brand owner?
- Was it manufactured according to a brand owner’s specifications?
- Who imported the packaging into Canada?
- Who placed the unfilled packaging on the Canadian market?
- Who filled the packaging?
- Who placed the filled packaging on the Canadian market?
- Is the brand owner resident in Canada?
These questions help determine where reporting responsibility sits.
Key takeaway
A plastic packaging manufacturer may or may not have a reporting obligation under the Federal Plastics Registry.
The answer depends on the facts.
If packaging is made specifically for a brand owner, the brand owner may be the reporting party. If packaging is generic, unfilled, and manufactured or imported without a specific brand owner or buyer in mind, the manufacturer or importer may have reporting obligations.
An essential step in the reporting process is correctly identifying the Producer, because reporting obligations flow from who is considered the Producer under the FPR rules.
For companies preparing FPR data, that distinction should be resolved before the reporting work begins.
Reference: Government of Canada, Guide for reporting to the Federal Plastics Registry – phase 1.
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/reduce-plastic-waste/federal-plastics-registry/guide-reporting-phase-1.html