Service companies - Reporting Guide

1. List all printed paper distributed during the reference year.
2. Determine who is responsible for each product.
3. Include all marketing-related printed paper (e,g., flyers and inserts, gift card envelopes).
4. Indicate the data sources used to prepare your reports, for example, real unit weight determined manually or provided by the manufacturer, supplier, or printer.

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

• All printed paper used or disposed of on site
• Printed paper bearing the name of a brand owned by a company with a place of business in Quebec, such as soft-drink cups
• Printed paper meant for an industrial, commercial, or institutional establishment (changes to come in 2025)

Examples

• Calculation errors
• Conversion errors (e.g., litres, kilograms, pounds)
• Errors when calculating the number of units in grouped packs
• Failing 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 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 intended for the consumer), four overwraps, and 24 bottles.

Additional information

Since the regulations apply to “recyclables,” some companies mistakenly believe that the paper they buy and use internally is subject to the contribution system. However, only printed paper that is intended for Quebec consumers is covered under the program.

Tips

Exclude paper purchased and used internally from the calculation of your reportable materials.

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 (articles 3.3 and 3.6) 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.