Memo // End-of-use deadline in 2025 for equipment containing Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)

MARCH 24, 2025 | From the Environment and Climate Change Canada (Compliance Promotion Team – Atlantic, Environmental Protection Branch) — The December 31, 2025 end-of-use deadline set by the PCB Regulations (SOR/2008-273) (the Regulations) is now less than a year away.

As the end-of-use deadline approaches, you must plan to decommission and properly dispose of any PCB-containing equipment that is subject to the Regulations.

The PCB Regulations (SOR/2008-273) came into force on September 5, 2008 and set regulatory requirements for equipment that contains PCBs, with the aim of eliminating the use of PCBs that could escape into the environment. The Regulations set deadlines for the end-of-use and the destruction of PCBs and PCB-containing equipment.

Are you subject to the December 31, 2025 end-of-use deadline?

PCBs are synthetic compounds that are commonly found in different types of electrical equipment. Check your equipment to see if it contains PCBs. You can consult our website for guidance on identifying PCBs.

December 31, 2025, is the last day that you can use any of the following equipment that contains PCBs with a concentration of 50 mg/kg (50 ppm) or more:

• electrical capacitors, light ballasts, electrical transformers and their auxiliary electrical equipment, including pole-top electrical transformers;
• electromagnets;
• heat transfer equipment, hydraulic equipment, vapour diffusion pumps and bridge bearings

How can you prepare for the December 31, 2025 end-of-use deadline?

If you are still using any of the above equipment containing PCBs with a concentration of 50 mg/kg (50 ppm) or more, it cannot be used after December 31, 2025. The equipment must be properly decommissioned and disposed of and sent for destruction at a licensed facility authorized for the destruction of PCBs.

You will need to contact a local authorized hazardous waste service provider for more information on proper disposal. Be prepared for costs associated with the removal from use, transportation, destruction, and potential replacement of your equipment.

If your equipment contains PCBs with a concentration of less than 50 mg/kg (50 ppm):

There are no end-of-use dates that apply to equipment containing PCBs with a concentration of less than 50 mg/kg (50 ppm). However, once taken out of service, such equipment cannot be reused and must be properly removed and/or destroyed.