Distributors - Reporting Guide

1. List all products sold during the reference year.
2. Determine who is responsible for each product.
   • Your report must include all containers, packaging, and printed paper used for brands for which you are considered the first supplier in Quebec.
   • In order to identify products sold under the brand name of a supplier for which you are not responsible, consult the list of companies with reports outstanding in the reporting portal.
3. Identify the components of each product you are responsible for reporting. For example, for a box of resealable freezer bags, the weight of the box and the resealable bags themselves are considered CPP materials (see next point).
4. Please note that containers and short-life packaging sold as products, as well as printed paper sold as products (CPP products) are covered under this program and must be reported by your company, if applicable. For example:
   • Aluminum pie plates
   • Gift bags and greeting cards
   • Cardboard, plastic, polystyrene (or Styrofoam) plates and glasses
   • Snack, sandwich, and freezer bags
5. Include all secondary and tertiary packaging that ultimately ends up with the consumer, such as the plastic wrap around a multipack of water bottles and its tray.
6. Indicate the data sources used to prepare your reports, such as real unit weight determined manually or provided by the manufacturer, supplier, or printer.

Some materials do not have to be reported, and others can be deducted from your contributions.

• Shipping packaging not left with the consumer
• Returned merchandise that is:
  • recalled
  • expired
  • damaged and cannot be sold to a consumer
  • not distributed
• All containers, packaging, and printed paper recovered in-house, unsold or not distributed
• Containers and packaging for industrial, commercial, or institutional end users (changes coming in 2025)
• All returnable containers (e.g., soft drinks). Please note the following:
  • All containers or packaging accompanying these products must be reported, such as a cardboard box that contains returnable bottles.
  • Some containers and packaging included in the producer financial contribution will soon become part of the expanded deposit system. Until the expanded deposit system is fully operational, containers and packaging covered by the expansion must be reported separately in the reporting portal. A list of these materials is available in our materials guide.

Examples

• Calculation errors
• Conversion errors (litres, kilograms, pounds, etc.)
• Errors when calculating the number of units in grouped packs
• Forgetting to include subtotals in a total, or including them twice
• Data entered incorrectly, with too many or too few digits, or with the decimal point in the wrong place

Tips

• Have your data validated by an external third party, by the internal audit team, or by someone other than the reporting individual.
• Protect the cells containing formulas in your Excel calculation file.
• Filter similar products to detect any weight differences. This will help you spot inadvertent errors, such as a decimal point or comma where there shouldn’t be one.
• Update the weights of your containers, packaging, and printed paper every three or four years.
• Be extra careful with multipacks – they are a frequent source of errors in calculation files. For example, if you sell consumers a case of 24 water bottles grouped in a cardboard box, the report must include not only the box, but also 24 times the weight of a single plastic bottle. Errors are even more common in cases of grouped multipacks. For example, if a case contains four 6-packs of bottles wrapped in plastic film, the report must include one cardboard box (if passed on to the consumer), four overwraps, and 24 bottles.

Examples

• Deductions for packaging that will not be left at consumers’ residences
• Undocumented deductions that aren’t backed by quantitative data

Tips

• Obtain quantitative, verifiable data to support your deductions—sales reports, third-party studies, etc. This data must be available on request for verification purposes.
• Ensure that deductions for all eligible materials are allowed under the rules and that you have sufficient supporting documentation to back them up.

To develop your methodology and obtain data to calculate a deduction, contact Éco Entreprises Québec. We can validate your information before you invest your resources.

Additional information

Companies must report all containers, packaging, and printed paper associated with products for which they are the brand owner or first supplier in Quebec.

The first supplier is the first to take title, possession, or control of printed paper or a product whose container or packaging is covered under the program.

If a company distributes products sold under a brand owned by another company with a store in Quebec, they are not considered the first supplier.

Tips

• List all your suppliers.
• Remove all suppliers with a Quebec address from this list.
• If in doubt, check the company’s status on the Registraire des entreprises du Québec or contact Producer Services at Éco Entreprises Québec.
• Consult the “List of expected companies” available in the “Report History” section of the ECO-D reporting portal. If the company that manufactures the brand you distribute appears on this list, you are not responsible for reporting the materials generated by these products.

Additional information

For reporting purposes, every detachable component of your packaging must be reported separately and classified by its material.

The number of units may vary for each component of a given package.

Tips

• Consult our materials guide.
• Ask your materials suppliers, who usually know the type of materials you use.
• If you are unsure, confirm the type of material with Éco Entreprises Québec Producer Services.
• Classify your materials using our tools, and consult the experts at Éco Entreprises Québec for complex cases.

Examples and additional information

Companies must report all advertising materials that are intended for consumers and bear their logo or distinguishing guise, whether or not they printed the materials (e.g., distribution by Publisac or by mail).

Print ads placed in newspapers or magazines do not need to be reported. They are the publisher's responsibility.

Tips

• Confirm the type of paper and quantities purchased with your printers.
• If you are unsure, contact Éco Entreprises Québec Producer Services.
• Deduct advertising materials that are stored and kept in your establishments.
• Do not report business-to-business advertising materials.
• Deduct coupons that were taken back by stores or returned by consumers.

Additional information

When a Quebec consumer places an order online, you must report the product’s containers, packaging, and printed paper, as well as all shipping materials (if not part of the product itself).

This means that you have to report the cardboard boxes and shipping envelopes you mail out to the consumer.

Tips

• Obtain data on consumer sales through your e-commerce platform.
• Weigh your typical shipping packages to determine the quantities generated based on the quantities used.

Additional information

When you sell a container covered by other regulations, you must still report the product’s secondary packaging where applicable, as these are not usually covered by the other regulations.

Tips

• Returnable containers: Secondary packaging used for returnable containers must be reported, such as plastic six-pack rings used for beer or soft-drink packs.
• Paints, oils, and antifreeze: Secondary containers must be reported, such as cardboard boxes used to transport multiple containers.
• Compact fluorescent bulbs, batteries, and electronics: Product containers and packaging must be reported.