OPEIC is the only government-approved electric outdoor power equipment recycling program in B.C. As of July 1, 2012, British Columbians are able to recycle electric products ranging from chain saws, garden sprayers and lawn mowers to pressure washers, mulchers and wood chippers.

The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute of Canada (OPEIC) is a non-profit organization representing the outdoor power equipment industry in Canada.  OPEIC has developed a stewardship program for recycling old or broken electric outdoor power equipment.

OPEIC has partnered with Product Care Association of Canada (PCA) to set up and operate this province-wide stewardship program. Product Care Association is a not-for-profit industry association that develops, implements and manages recycling programs across Canada. PCA has been contracted by OPEIC to manage the stewardship program for electrical outdoor power equipment in British Columbia.

The program began July 1st, 2012.

The provincial government has mandated that electric outdoor power equipment manufacturers and retailers must recover and recycle their products. A recycling program for electric outdoor power equipment has been developed by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute of Canada (OPEIC) and approved by the B.C. Ministry of Environment.

Visit www.opeic.ca/consumers.html and enter your city or postal code in the depot finder to find a location near you that includes the location's address, map and hours of operation.  Outdoor power equipment that relies on a fuel-powered engine is not included in the program, however many collection sites may accept them, at their discretion.

OPEIC currently manages electric outdoor power equipment, ranging in size from hand-held brush cutters and chain saws to pressure washers and lawn mowers. Products are divided into categories including: hand-held, walk behind, free-standing and lawn tractors. Visit www.opeic.ca/consumers.html#products to see a complete list of what electric outdoor power equipment are accepted by the program.

Programs such as ElectroRecycle, ERPA, Call2Recycle and Recycle My Cell are available to recycle other types of electric products.

For information on other recycling options for products not accepted by OPEIC, call the Recycling Council of B.C.'s Hotline at 1-800-667-4321 or download the convenient BC Recyclepedia Smart Phone App.

If your electric outdoor power equipment is still functional and is in relatively good condition, consider trying to find it a second home before dropping it off for recycling. Possible avenues include family members, friends, neighbours, a garage sale, thrift stores, charities, or classifieds sites such as Craigslist, Kijiji, Freecycle, or the Recycling Council of B.C.'s reuse sites.

The OPEIC program covers electric outdoor power equipment with a power cord, plug and/or battery(ies) as the primary energy source. Outdoor power equipment that relies on a fuel-powered engine is not included in the program, however many collection sites may accept them, at their discretion.

Gasoline and oil must be drained and removed from fuel-powered products prior to taking them to any collection site. For gasoline disposal, see productcare.org/BC-Paint-Program and for oil disposal, see usedoilrecycling.com

If component parts have enough metal content to be considered scrap metal, the collection site would accept these materials.

Like most other recycling programs operating in BC, the OPEIC program is funded by an environmental handling fee (EHF) applied on the sale of new electric outdoor power equipment brought into the province by manufacturers, distributors and retailers.

The EHF was introduced on July 1st, 2012 to support the management of this new program. This non-profit program operates on a long-term cost-recovery basis. Retailers, manufacturers and distributors do not make a profit from these programs.

The costs of responsible recycling programs ultimately affect the price of the products we buy.

A curbside collection program would significantly increase program costs. The OPEIC program is operated through a network system of accessible drop-off collection sites within the province. Blue box and other curb-side recycling programs are paid for and managed by local governments and generally do not include electric outdoor product equipment such as pressure washers, grass trimmers or lawn mowers. Most electric outdoor power equipment is too large for the blue boxes.

The EHF is not a deposit, so you won't get a refund when you recycle an electrical product. However, there is no charge to drop-off your electrical products at any OPEIC drop-off location.

The EHF is subject to sales tax, as it is considered to be a part of the price of regulated products. While the applicable tax will be remitted to the government, no part of the EHF itself will be remitted to the government.

EHFs were determined by OPEIC based on industry-best practices and other factors including:

• Total product weight per category
• Costs of program administration
• Product sales and forecasts

The program is designed so the cost of managing one category is not subsidized by the EHFs paid by another category. EHFs will be reviewed periodically and will be re-adjusted if necessary.

On October 1, 2016, the EHF's were adjusted downward to better reflect the administrative costs of managing the OPEIC program.

If you don't see your question here, just email us directly to info@opeic.ca and we’ll make sure to get back to you. You can also call the Recycling Hotline at 1-800-667-4321 or go to their website Recycling Council of B.C.'s.