Electronic Products Recycling Association

We are the Electronic Products Recycling Association – an industry-led, not-for-profit organization that operates regulated recycling programs across Canada. We ensure that end-of-life electronics are handled in a safe, secure and environmentally-sound manner.Through our programs, we keep 100,000  metric tonnes of old electronics out of landfills each year. That’s roughly equivalent to 20,000 elephants.End-of-life electronics are dropped off at EPRA authorized collection sites, including drop-off centres, return-to-retail locations and at special collection events, in well over 1,000 locations across the country.The products are then sent to audited and approved specialized recyclers for processing.  New technology is used to break down old technology and harvest the raw materials that went into them including glass, plastics, and precious metals like gold and copper.  Substances of concern like mercury and lead, are also handled responsibly to protect both the environment, and the health and safety of the workers handling them. The recovered materials are then put back into the manufacturing supply chain and used to make new products.When you bring your old, unusable electronics to EPRA-authorized locations, you’re helping to:Keep old electronics out of landfills.Prevent them from being illegally exported or handled by irresponsible recyclers.And, you’re helping to recover and recycle valuable resources that can be put back into the manufacturing supply chain.It’s impossible to imagine a world today without electronics. Together, we can make sure it’s also impossible to imagine a world where piles of old electronics are sitting in landfills or harming our environment.Using and enjoying electronics today, also means responsibly recycling them for a cleaner tomorrow.Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA) is committed to ensuring that end-of-life electronics (EOLE) collected through its program are recycled in a manner that protects the environment as well as worker health and safety.EPRA only works with recyclers who have been audited and approved under the national Recycler Qualification Program (RQP), which is designed by the electronics industry to ensure that EOLEs are managed in a safe and environmentally sound manner.This means that all EPRA recyclers are prohibited from exporting electronics or substances of concern to non-OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) nations, and the use of prison labour for processing equipment is not permitted. In addition, EPRA requires enhanced worker health and safety provisions and downstream accountability.From drop-off and dismantling to processing and recycling, your end-of-life electronics are managed to the highest environmental standards. Once collected and sorted, items are sent to an EPRA-approved recycling facility to remove substances of concern for proper downstream management. All other materials are separated to recover recyclable elements such as metals, plastics and glass so they can be processed into new products. View more information on responsible recycling. Watch the video below to see what happens to your end-of-life electronics once they are dropped off at EPRA-authorized collection sites.