Q&A

1. “Act”: The Environment Quality Act, R.S.Q., c. Q-2, as amended from time to time;
2. “Brand”: A mark used by an entity for the purpose of distinguishing, or so as to distinguish, newspapers marketed by it from those marketed by others;
3. “Class of materials”: A class of materials subject to the Compensation Plan, in this case the class “newspapers,” i.e., those marketed in Québec;
4. “Compensation Plan”: The compensation plan for municipalities, as enacted by Sub-section 4.1, Section VII, Chapter I of the Act and by the Regulation;
5. “Contribution in the form of advertising purchases”: The amount payable in the form of advertising purchases by an entity subject to this Schedule of Contributions. Such contributions must allow for the dissemination, nationally, regionally and locally, of environmental information, awareness or education messages, with emphasis laid on messages promoting recovery and reclamation of residual materials; they may be published in print newspapers or online platforms;
6. “Contribution payable”: The amount payable in cash by RecycleMédias to an entity subject to this Schedule of Contributions;
7. “Distinguishing guise”: The format of a newspaper, the appearance of which is used by an entity person for the purpose of distinguishing, or so as to distinguish, that newspaper from those marketed by others;
8. “Targeted entity”: An entity subject to the Compensation Plan, as designated in Chapter 3 of the Schedule of Contributions;
9. “First supplier”: An entity, domiciled or established in Québec, that is the first to take title, possession or control in Québec of a newspaper subject to the Schedule of Contributions;
10. “Foreign publication”: A newspaper for which the quantity of materials marketed in Québec represents less than 25% of the total quantity of materials marketed;
11. “Materials”: The paper and other cellulosic fibres belonging to the class of materials. The quantity of materials marketed is measured in metric tons (tonnes);
12. “Name”: The name under which any business is carried on, whether or not it is the name of a legal person, a partnership or an individual;
13. “Newspapers”: As set forth in Section 2 of the Regulation, the class “Newspapers” includes paper and other cellulosic fibres used as a medium for written current affairs periodicals published on newsprint, particularly dailies and weeklies, and also includes the containers and packaging used to deliver newspapers directly to the ultimate consumer or recipients;
14. “Online platforms”: Websites (including portals) and other online products, dedicated mainly to current affairs, owned by the entity subject to the Plan or another member of its corporate group, via which a contribution in the form of advertising purchases may be made;
15. “RecycleMédias fees”: The management fees and other RecycleMédias expenses related to the Compensation Plan that may be collected by RecycleMédias under Section 53.31.13 of the Act;
16. “RecycleMédias”: An organization accredited by Recyc-Québec that represents the newspapers;
17. “Recyc-Québec”: The Société québécoise de récupération et de recyclage, as designated in Section 1 of the Act Respecting the Société québécoise de récupération et de recyclage, R.S.Q., c. S-22.01;
18. “Recyc-Québec fees”: The management fees and other Recyc-Québec expenses related to the Compensation Plan and payables to Recyc-Québec by RecycleMédias under Section 53.31.18 of the Act and Section 8.14 of the Regulation;
19. “Regulation”: The Regulation Respecting Compensation for Municipal Services Provided to Recover and Reclaim Residual Materials, R.S.Q., c. Q-2, r. 10, as amended from time to time;
20. “Schedule of Contributions”: This schedule, including its appendices.

According to Section 3 of the Schedule of Contributions, the targeted entity is:
The entity that is the owner of the brand, name or distinguishing guise that identifies a material subject to the contributions set forth in this Schedule of Contributions. The owner of the brand is the entity required to pay a contribution for that material.
If, however, the owner has no domicile or establishment in Québec, payment of the contributions may be demanded from the first supplier in Québec of said material, regardless of whether that supplier is the importer.

Within the scope of the Act, the Government of Québec, acting through RecycleMédias, creates the legal requirement for targeted businesses and organizations to finance their share of the net costs of municipal curbside recycling services, from a perspective of sustainable development.

There are two components to the contributions paid by targeted entities:

1. The rate related to the compensation remitted to municipalities to cover the costs of newsprint recycling services. The remittal to the municipalities was in the form of advertising purchases until 2012.Since 2013, the compensation remitted to municipalities have a portion payable in moeny and a portion in the form of advertising purchase.
2. The rate related to the management fee payable to Recyc-Québec and to RecycleMédias to cover their ongoing operations.

For a given year, the contribution payable by a targeted entity is calculated by multiplying the quantity of materials marketed during the year (ex. 2016) by the rate applicable for the given year, in accordance with the tarification guide.For more informations, please see the tarification guide section.

Yes, if you are able to demonstrate to RecycleMédias that your contributions will be paid in full on your behalf by a third party, referred to as a “voluntary contributor.” (See sections 3.2.1 and 3.3 of the Schedule of Contributions.)

You may also be exempt from paying the contributions is also possible if, during the year in question, the materials marketed had a total weight equal to or less than fifteen (15) metric tonnes. (See Section 3.2.2.). The declaration of tonnage is still mandatory.

Financing of the net costs of recycling is performed by means of the contributions by the targeted businesses and organizations, calculated based on the materials and quantities generated (measured in metric tonnes). NB : les pages liées sont-elles traduites ?

To calculate their tonnage, targeted entities must contact their printers to ascertain the quantity of paper used for the year in question. To this must be added the data concerning the format of the newspaper(s) produced, i.e., width times height, and the thickness of the paper. To declare your company’s tonnage, you must first create an account, which will provide you with access to a secure zone where you can complete the required online form. Declare tonnage.

A metric ton equals 1,000 kilograms or 2,204 pounds.