Restaurants - Reporting Guide

1. List all containers, packaging, and printed paper provided to your clients as part of your service offer during the reference year.
2. Determine who is responsible for each product.
   • Your report must include all containers, packaging, and printed paper related to your brands and those for which you are the first supplier in Quebec.
3. Include the materials added at the point of sale: receipts and invoices, meal containers, etc.
4. Include all marketing-related printed paper, such as menus, promotional material.
5. Indicate the data sources used to prepare your reports, e.g., real unit weight determined manually or provided by the manufacturer, supplier, or printer.

Certain materials are excluded from the Schedule of Contributions, and others can be deducted from your contributions.

• Containers, packaging, and printed paper used or consumed on site
• Utensils and paper towels (however, the bags containing these items must be reported)
• All returnable containers (e.g., soft drinks). Please note the following:
  • All containers or packaging accompanying these products must be reported, e.g., 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 and return 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.

Examples and additional information

Retailer and restaurant reports must include all supplies added at the point of sale, such as shopping bags and receipts.

For businesses operating under a franchise, chain, banner, or other similar form of affiliation or grouping of businesses or establishments, responsibility lies with the franchisor or owner of the grouping.

Tips

• Consult the report on the quantities of containers or rolls purchased, their weight, and the corresponding materials, which is often provided by your suppliers.
• If you are still unsure, confirm the type of materials with your suppliers.
• Deduct any supplies not passed on to consumers, such as expired products.

Examples

• Deductions for packaging that will not be left at consumers’ residences
• Undocumented deductions that are not 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 infomation before you invest your resources.

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 distinctive 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

Because paper placemats, plastic utensils, and plastic straws are made of materials similar to those used in containers and packaging, some restaurateurs include these items in their calculations. However, paper placemats, plastic utensils, and plastic straws are not considered containers, packaging, or printed paper for the purposes of this regulation.

Tips

• Exclude items that are not containers, packaging, or printed paper from your calculation of reportable quantities. For example:
  • Placemats
  • Utensils
  • Hand towels
  • Straws
  • Stir sticks for coffee
• Include containers and packaging such as cups, lids, and take-out containers.