Nova Scotia vs Washington EPR: Rules Compared
Last verified
Nova Scotia and Washington both run packaging EPR, but the rules differ. Nova Scotia exempts only producers below the lower revenue floor, CA$1,000,000 against $5,000,000 in Washington. Washington has the lower weight floor, 907.2 kg against 1 tonne in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia asks for its first annual report earlier, on April 30 against May 31 in Washington.
Nova Scotia and Washington side by side
3 of 9 rows have a verified figure on each side of Nova Scotia and Washington; a cell reads “not yet published” when a side has none, and an exemption row reads “none recorded; see thresholds” when no exemption is on record.
| Measure | Nova Scotia | Washington | Stricter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration duty | not yet published | Required | Not comparable |
| Producer organisation | one producer responsibility organisation | one producer responsibility organisation | Not comparable |
| Lowest revenue exemption | CA$1,000,000 | $5,000,000 | Nova Scotia |
| Lowest weight exemption | 1 tonne | 907.2 kg | Washington |
| First annual report date | April 30 | May 31 | Nova Scotia |
| Published penalties | not yet published | 1 published | Not comparable |
| Report file | csv | csv | Not comparable |
| Paper fee, cheapest matched rate | 75 cents per kilogram | not yet published | Not comparable |
| Plastic fee, cheapest matched rate | 217 cents per kilogram | not yet published | Not comparable |
The lowest revenue exemption is CA$1,000,000 in Nova Scotia and $5,000,000 in Washington (CA$6,989,000 at the Bank of Canada 2025 annual average rate). Nova Scotia therefore reaches smaller sellers: a business with revenue between the two lines is exempt in Washington but still in scope in Nova Scotia.
The lowest weight exemption is 1 tonne of packaging in Nova Scotia and 907.2 kg in Washington, about 1.1 times as much in Nova Scotia as in Washington. A seller whose packaging falls between the two lines is exempt in Nova Scotia but counted in Washington.
The earliest annual report date is April 30 in Nova Scotia and May 31 in Washington, 31 days apart. Nova Scotia leaves less time to prepare, so its data has to be ready first.
Who runs the programme in Nova Scotia and Washington
Who collects and who the producer files with, in Nova Scotia and then Washington.
| Aspect | Nova Scotia | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| Regime | Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act, Part IX (packaging and paper EPR regulations) | Washington Recycling Reform Act, chapter 70A.208 RCW |
| Regulator | Resource Recovery Fund Board (Divert NS), as Administrator | Washington State Department of Ecology |
| Producers obligated | Yes | Yes |
| Registration | not yet published | Required, Producer registers with a PRO; the PRO registers with Ecology |
| Producer organisation | one producer responsibility organisation: Circular Materials; membership optional | one producer responsibility organisation: Circular Action Alliance; membership required |
| Transfer of responsibility | Allowed | not yet published |
| Revenue counted as | gross revenue inside the jurisdiction, CAD, year | worldwide gross revenue, USD, prior fiscal year |
| Who counts as the producer | primary: brand owner, importer, seller; secondary: brand owner, importer, seller; tertiary: brand owner, importer, seller | primary: manufacturer, brand licensee, brand owner, importer |
Both programmes organise producer responsibility the same way: one producer responsibility organisation. The practical differences between Nova Scotia and Washington therefore sit in thresholds, fees, dates and report formats rather than in whom a producer deals with.
What Nova Scotia and Washington cover, side by side
Each row below is one published feature of the two programmes; a cell reads “not yet published” when Nova Scotia or Washington has no verified entry for it in the dataset.
| Aspect | Nova Scotia | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| Materials covered | paper, plastic, metal, glass, printed paper, packaging | packaging, paper products |
| Product classes covered | packaging, paper products | packaging, paper |
| Excluded from scope | small producers | exempt materials |
| Sales channels addressed | retail, online, distance sale | physical retail, remote sale, other distribution |
| Producer duty: primary packaging | brand_owner; importer; seller | manufacturer; licensee; brand_owner; importer |
| Producer duty: secondary packaging | brand_owner; importer; seller | not yet published |
| Producer duty: tertiary packaging | brand_owner; importer; seller | not yet published |
| Reporting categories | 33, material category | not yet published |
| Exemption 1 | Small producers and societies (except educational) are exempt | A de minimis producer is under one ton, or under the global revenue limit, or an agricultural employer within limits. |
| Exemption 2 | not yet published | Registered 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations are excluded from the producer definition. |
Thresholds and exemptions in Nova Scotia and Washington
Every verified threshold Nova Scotia and Washington publish, as each states it.
| Place | Measure | Amount | Effect | Basis as published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Scotia | revenue | CA$1,000,000 | exempt below | gross Nova Scotia revenue |
| Nova Scotia | packaging tonnage | 1 tonne | exempt below | designated material supplied in the Province |
| Washington | packaging tonnage | 1 short ton | exempt below | covered materials introduced, most recent fiscal year |
| Washington | revenue | $5,000,000 | exempt below | global gross revenue, prior fiscal year |
Nova Scotia exemption: Small producers and societies (except educational) are exempt It does not have to be applied for.
Washington exemption: A de minimis producer is under one ton, or under the global revenue limit, or an agricultural employer within limits. It does not have to be applied for.
Washington exemption: Registered 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations are excluded from the producer definition. It does not have to be applied for.
Read the basis column first: the same amount can exempt a producer in one programme and only simplify its report in another.
The lowest revenue exemption is CA$1,000,000 in Nova Scotia and $5,000,000 in Washington (CA$6,989,000 at the Bank of Canada 2025 annual average rate). Nova Scotia therefore reaches smaller sellers: a business with revenue between the two lines is exempt in Washington but still in scope in Nova Scotia.
The lowest weight exemption is 1 tonne of packaging in Nova Scotia and 907.2 kg in Washington, about 1.1 times as much in Nova Scotia as in Washington. A seller whose packaging falls between the two lines is exempt in Nova Scotia but counted in Washington.
Fees per kilogram for shared materials
Nova Scotia publishes per-kilogram rates in the dataset; Washington does not. The rows therefore show Nova Scotia only. Until both sides publish per-kilogram rates for the same material class, a fee comparison between Nova Scotia and Washington would mean inventing a figure, and this page does not do that.
Nova Scotia: the 2027 fee schedule of Circular Materials Nova Scotia, effective January 1, 2027, is the source of the per-kilogram rates used on this page.
Nova Scotia 2027: the category “Boxboard and Other Paper Packaging” is published at 75 cents per kilogram.
Nova Scotia 2027: the category “LDPE/HDPE Film” is published at 217 cents per kilogram.
Nova Scotia 2027: the category “Clear Glass” is published at 53 cents per kilogram.
Deadlines in Nova Scotia and Washington
Each verified date, with the period it covers when one is given.
| Place | Kind | Date | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Scotia | report | May 31 | calendar year before the year the report is due (s 29(4)) |
| Nova Scotia | report | April 30, 2030 | the 4 immediately preceding years |
| Nova Scotia | payment | October 1, 2026 | 2026 Divert NS EPR oversight fees |
| Nova Scotia | registration | January 1, 2024 | not yet published |
| Washington | other | March 1, 2026 | not yet published |
| Washington | report | May 31, 2026 | not yet published |
| Washington | registration | July 1, 2026 | not yet published |
| Washington | other | October 1, 2028 | not yet published |
| Washington | other | March 1, 2029 | not yet published |
| Washington | other | January 1, 2030 | not yet published |
| Washington | payment | February 15, 2031 | not yet published |
| Washington | payment | February 15, 2032 | not yet published |
The earliest annual report date is April 30 in Nova Scotia and May 31 in Washington, 31 days apart. Nova Scotia leaves less time to prepare, so its data has to be ready first.
Penalties in Nova Scotia and Washington
What each side has published; a side without an amount says so.
Washington penalty for producer violating chapter 70A.208 RCW: up to $1,000 per day.
Report formats in Nova Scotia and Washington
How the report file for Nova Scotia compares with the one for Washington.
| Aspect | Nova Scotia | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | Nova Scotia producer annual report Fee-year categories, reviewed 2026-09-29 | Washington interim producer supply report by material class 2026-09-29 (interim, built from CAA guidance) |
| Recipient | Resource Recovery Fund Board (Divert NS) / Circular Materials | Circular Action Alliance (Washington PRO) |
| How it is submitted | WeRecycle Portal | CAA producer portal. The customer signs in and submits. |
| File type | csv | csv |
| Encoding | utf-8 | utf-8 |
| Delimiter | , | , |
| Decimal separator | . | |
| Columns | 4 | 4 |
| Required columns | 4 of 4 | 4 of 4 |
| Weight unit | kg | lb |
| Period basis | calendar year | calendar year |
The two layouts share a file type and a delimiter, but each programme names its own columns and categories, so one file cannot be sent to both programmes. Each report is built from the same underlying measurements and exported separately.
Which to plan for first, Nova Scotia or Washington
Plan around the earlier report date first. Nova Scotia asks for its first annual report on April 30, before Washington, so its data has to be ready first.
Check the exemption thresholds before anything else. Nova Scotia reaches smaller sellers than Washington, so a seller that is exempt in Washington may still have to register in Nova Scotia.
Questions about comparing these two programmes
Is Nova Scotia or Washington stricter on packaging EPR?
Nova Scotia exempts only producers below the lower revenue floor, CA$1,000,000 against $5,000,000 in Washington. Washington has the lower weight floor, 907.2 kg against 1 tonne in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia asks for its first annual report earlier, on April 30 against May 31 in Washington.
Do I register in both Nova Scotia and Washington?
Nova Scotia has not yet published its registration duty. Washington requires producers to register.
How do the fees per kilogram compare in Nova Scotia and Washington?
The dataset does not hold per-kilogram rates for the same material class on both sides, so this page does not compare fees.
Which deadline comes first, Nova Scotia or Washington?
The earliest annual report date is April 30 in Nova Scotia and May 31 in Washington, 31 days apart. Nova Scotia leaves less time to prepare, so its data has to be ready first.
How these figures are made
Sources
- novascotia.ca: envpppextproducer retrieved
Original wording: For the purposes of these regulations, the implementation date is December 1, 2025.
Original wording: the Resource Recovery Fund Board established under Section 98 of the Act
Original wording: A producer may designate a producer responsibility organization to operate on its
Original wording: the producer for the purposes of
Original wording: “small producer” means
Original wording: the brand holder of the designated material, if the brand holder is a resident
Original wording: “small producer” means (i) a producer whose gross annual revenue in the Province is less than $1 000 000
Original wording: a producer who supplies less than 1 tonne of designated material in
Original wording: a small producer.
Original wording: On or before May 31 in each year beginning in 2027, a producer of designated material supplied to consumers in the Province must submit
Original wording: On or before April 30, 2030, and every 4th year afterward, a producer must have its practices and procedures respecting Part V
Original wording: but no later than January 1, 2024, every producer must register in the form and manner required by the Administrator.
- divertns.ca: epr oversight fees retrieved
Original wording: Producers will receive an email on October 1, 2026, advising that EPR Oversight Invoices are available in the EPR Portal.
- circularmaterials.ca: Circular Materials Report to Producers 2025 retrieved
Original wording: Newspapers 82
- circularactionalliance.org: washington retrieved
Original wording: required in the Recycling Reform Act
Original wording: By January 1, 2026 Washington Department of Ecology must establish and appoint the initial membership of the advisory council.
Original wording: July 1, 2026 Washington regulatory deadline for Producers to register with a PRO.
Original wording: By March 1, 2026 A PRO must register with Washington Department of Ecology on behalf of its producers.
Original wording: By May 31, 2026 Reporting (Interim State Addendum Signed & Simplified Reporting)
- app.leg.wa.gov: default retrieved
Original wording: After July 1, 2026, be a member of a producer responsibility organization registered in this state
Original wording: Has a global gross revenue, not including on-premises alcohol sales, for the prior fiscal year of
Original wording: the producer is the person that manufactures the item
Original wording: In their most recent fiscal year introduced less than one ton of covered materials
Original wording: Until January 1, 2031, less than $5,000,000
Original wording: "De minimis producer" means a producer that
Original wording: Registered 501(c)(3) charitable organizations and 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations
Original wording: By October 1, 2028, and every five years thereafter, submit a plan that meets the requirements of this chapter
Original wording: Beginning March 1, 2029, a producer that is not a member in good standing with a registered producer responsibility organization
Original wording: By January 1, 2030, or within six months of plan approval, whichever is later, implement the plan approved by the department
Original wording: No less than 75 percent of the net costs by February 15, 2031
Original wording: No less than 90 percent of the net costs by February 15, 2032, and each year thereafter
Original wording: civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation per day on any producer who violates this chapter
Original wording: "Covered material" means packaging and paper products introduced into the state.
- ecology.wa.gov: producer responsibility organization retrieved
Original wording: The Circular Action Alliance is the PRO representing producers in Washington. We encourage all potentially obligated producers to register with CAA.
- Bank of Canada, FXAUSDCAD (annual average 2025) retrieved
- knowledge.werecycle.ca: Report to Producers 2026 OCT15 retrieved
Original wording: Circular Materials in Nova Scotia Fee Schedule (Cents/Kg)
Original wording: Boxboard and Other Paper Packaging 75 74 1.4%
Original wording: LDPE/HDPE Film 217 212 2.4%
Original wording: Clear Glass 53 51 3.9%
The free plan is enough to start. We estimate and prepare; you sign and submit.