Business FAQs

EPRA British Columbia is a not-for-profit industry-led organization that operates a government-approved end-of-life electronics recycling program throughout the province. Residents and businesses can drop off their unwanted electronics free of charge for safe, secure and responsible recycling at an EPRA British Columbia drop-off location.

Absolutely. The EPRA British Columbia program is designed to manage end-of-life electronic products that have exhausted their reuse potential. If your electronic items are not at the end of their useful life, you are encouraged to explore reuse opportunities including donating them to family members, friends or authorized Reuse Organizations.

EPRA is committed to recycling end-of-life electronic products collected through our network of drop-off locations in a responsible manner. EPRA only works with recyclers who have been verified under the national Electronics Recycling Standard (ERS) which was designed by the electronics industry to ensure that end-of-life electronics are managed in a safe and environmentally-sound manner. This means that all EPRA verified recyclers must be actively processing material that is entrusted to them by EPRA. Further, our Recycler Qualification Office (RQO) verifies the recyclers against the ERS requirements. This ensures that recyclers are maintaining appropriate environmental, health and safety controls and are properly handling all materials. For more information, visit www.RQP.ca

Consumers and businesses are responsible for ensuring that all personal data is removed from their electronic devices, prior to bringing them to one of our drop-off locations. If you are unsure how to do this, contact your manufacturer for more information. While EPRA British Columbia requires that all of our recyclers protect data on end-of-life electronics from unauthorized access or theft, it is your obligation to protect your personal information. EPRA British Columbia does not accept liability for data or any other digital content that is left on electronic products collected at our drop-off locations.

EPRA British Columbia is funded through Environmental Handling Fees (EHF) that are applied on the sale of all new electronic products. It’s not a tax, nor is it a refundable deposit. The EHF on each item in the program is based on the actual cost to recycle the materials contained in the product. All program revenue is used for the collection, transportation and responsible recycling of end-of-life electronics as well as program administration.

EPRA British Columbia manages end-of-life electronics according to the highest environmental standards at every stage of the recycling process. Once collected and sorted, items are sent to an EPRA approved recycling facility for dismantling, and proper downstream management. All other materials are separated into different streams to recover such parts as metal, plastics, glass and other natural resources so they can be processed into new products.