Starting April 1, 2024, the New Brunswick Beverage Containers Program will shift to an extended producer responsibility (EPR) model, falling under the jurisdiction of the New Brunswick Designated Materials Regulation (Clean Environment Act).
The Regulation, dating back to 2008, establishes product stewardship recycling programs for various products in the Province. In March 2023, it was amended to include beverage containers, initiating the transition from the existing system for used beverage container (UBC) collection/recycling in New Brunswick to an EPR approach.
According to the Regulation, as of April 1, 2024, before selling any “ready-to-drink” sealed beverages in New Brunswick, beverage product brand owners must submit a stewardship plan outlining how their UBCs will be recovered and recycled in New Brunswick. Brand owners can appoint us – Encorp Atlantic/Atlantique (“Encorp”), to handle this responsibility on their behalf. On August 1, 2023, we met our obligation of submitting a 5-year stewardship plan for the new EPR Beverage Containers Program to Recycle NB. The stewardship plan is currently in its final stages of approval by Recycle NB, and we will inform all stakeholders once it is approved and available to be consulted.
In the meantime, we invite you to read through our Brand Owner Information Package that was recently sent out and is available on our website at encorpatl.ca/epr. As per the information provided in this package, obligated brand owners must complete and sign our Brand Owner Agreement to officially appoint us as their Agent for the new EPR Beverage Containers Program. More details as well as steps to compliance to follow in anticipation of April 1, 2024, are included in the Brand Owner Information Package. We encourage obligated brand owners to complete and send to us all necessary documents before January 31, 2024, to ensure the smoothest transition as we get closer to the start of the new EPR Beverage Containers Program.
