Health Products Stewardship Association

What Health Products Stewardship Association does

Health Products Stewardship Association (HPSA) is a Canadian non-profit stewardship organization founded circa 1999–2000 that operates take-back programs for the safe disposal of medications, natural health products, and medical sharps. The organization serves primarily residents of Ontario and New Brunswick, with a broader national scope claim, providing accessible drop-off infrastructure through partnerships with retail pharmacies such as Pharmasave. HPSA commemorated its 25th anniversary in November 2025, reflecting a multi-decade operational track record in regulated health product stewardship.

HPSA's core offerings consist of a Medication Collection Program, a Medical Sharps Collection Program, a Pharmacy Take-Back Program, and a Consumer Education Initiative launched in partnership with Circular Materials. The underlying capability is not a software or AI platform but rather a regulated logistics and collection network — routing health products from pharmacy drop-off points to appropriate disposal channels under government-mandated Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks. The technical stack is operational rather than digital: collection point coordination, regulatory compliance, consumer outreach, and partnership management across provincial jurisdictions.

The organization's revenue mechanics are anchored in EPR producer fees paid by health product manufacturers rather than direct consumer pricing. Ontario is transitioning to a fully producer-funded blue box system in 2026, directly reshaping HPSA's funding base and stewardship mandate. Go-to-market relies on channel partnerships with retail pharmacy chains serving as collection points, supplemented by consumer education campaigns to reduce recycling-stream confusion. Headcount is in the 1–10 range, and no revenue, funding, or financial figures are disclosed in available sources.

Name

Health Products Stewardship Association

Legal name

Health Products Stewardship Association

Website

https://healthsteward.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Health Products Stewardship Association (HPSA) is a Canadian non-profit operating pharmacy-based take-back programs for safe disposal of medications, natural health products, and medical sharps across Ontario and New Brunswick under Extended Producer Responsibility frameworks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Product Stewardship and Pharmaceutical Waste Management

NAICS

Hazardous Waste Collection (562112), Waste Treatment and Disposal (5622), Waste Collection (5621), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950), Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Medication Disposal, Returns & Safety (Sharps/Take-Back) (HSABALAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sharps Management (Containers, Collection, Treatment) (BPALAGAD), Pharmaceutical Waste Management (RCRA/Non-RCRA, Take-Back) (BPALAGAF), Medical Waste Management & Biohazard Disposal Systems (Regulated Waste, Liners, Containers) (HLAHANAI)

Keywords

• Medication take-back programs
• Pharmaceutical waste disposal
• Extended producer responsibility
• Medical sharps disposal
• Consumer education campaigns

Headquarters

HQ city

Woodbridge

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Funding: HPSA operates under an Extended Producer Responsibility framework where producers of health products fund the collection and safe disposal programs. This is transitioning to fully producer-funded systems in provinces like Ontario in 2026.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Health Products Stewardship Association operates medication and medical sharps collection infrastructure through pharmacy take-back programs across Canada. The organization facilitates the safe disposal of unused medications, natural health products, and medical sharps under government-mandated Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks, primarily in Ontario and New Brunswick. It also runs consumer education initiatives to direct residents to appropriate disposal channels.

Product overview

Health Products Stewardship Association (HPSA) operates a suite of product stewardship programs focused on the safe collection and disposal of health products. The core offerings consist of medication and medical sharps collection programs, delivered through a network of pharmacy-based take-back locations (including partnerships with Pharmasave). HPSA also provides consumer education initiatives, such as its joint program with Circular Materials, to guide residents toward appropriate disposal channels across Ontario and New Brunswick. The programs address environmental contamination risks and worker safety concerns in recycling streams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Medication Collection Program
• Medical Sharps Collection Program
• Pharmacy Take-Back Program
• Consumer Education Initiative

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Circular MaterialscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2026Joint consumer education initiative launched June 15, 2026, to address confusion between recycling streams in Ontario and New Brunswick. The partnership aims to direct residents to appropriate disposal channels, particularly pharmacy-based take-back programs for medications, natural health products, and medical sharps. Both organizations are treating Ontario's transition to fully producer-funded blue box system as an opportunity to reach residents with clear, consistent recycling guidance.
• PharmasavecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPharmasave pharmacies serve as collection points for HPSA's medication and sharps collection programs across multiple provinces. This partnership enables residents to safely dispose of health products at participating retail pharmacy locations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Stericycle: Stericycle is one of the largest North American regulated medical and sharps waste management providers. It is comparable to HPSA as a broad incumbent operating across the same regulated medical waste category, including pharmaceutical take-back and sharps collection for healthcare and consumer-facing channels.
• Veolia Environmental Services: Veolia operates hazardous waste, regulated waste, and recycling collection services across multiple continents, including pharmaceutical and medical waste streams. It is comparable to HPSA as a broad, multi-jurisdiction incumbent offering overlapping capabilities in regulated waste take-back and treatment.
• Clean Harbors Environmental Services: Clean Harbors is a major North American provider of environmental and hazardous waste services, including pharmaceutical and medical waste handling. It is comparable to HPSA as a broad incumbent covering the same regulated medical/pharmaceutical waste categories at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Daniels Health: Daniels Health provides sharps and regulated medical waste containers, collection, and treatment services to healthcare and pharmacy customers. It is comparable to HPSA as a direct peer offering sharps container systems and take-back infrastructure, though typically serving institutional healthcare rather than consumer pharmacy channels.
• Sharps Compliance Corp: Sharps Compliance specializes in the collection, transport, and treatment of medical sharps waste and unused pharmaceuticals, including consumer mail-back and take-back programs. It is a direct competitor in the same category — sharps and medication disposal — using a similarly channel-driven distribution model.
• BioMedical Waste Solutions: BioMedical Waste Solutions offers mail-back pharmaceutical and sharps disposal programs targeted at consumers and small businesses. It is a direct peer to HPSA in the consumer-facing medication and sharps take-back category, sharing the take-back distribution model.
• Heritage-Crystal Clean: Heritage-Crystal Clean provides specialty waste services, including the collection and disposal of pharmaceuticals and hazardous consumer products through take-back-style programs. It is comparable to HPSA as a direct peer in specialty/regulated consumer waste collection.

Regional players

• Éco Entreprises Québec: Éco Entreprises Québec is a Quebec-based producer responsibility organization (PRO) that funds and operates curbside collection and recycling programs under EPR. It is comparable to HPSA as a regional peer operating the same EPR-funded stewardship model, though focused on curbside recyclables rather than health products.
• RecycleBC: RecycleBC is a British Columbia-based residential packaging and paper product EPR program operator, also partnering with Circular Materials for stewardship transitions. It is comparable to HPSA as a regional peer running EPR-funded collection programs in a Canadian province, sharing the same stewardship/governance archetype.

Emerging players

• Call2Recycle Canada: Call2Recycle operates the Canadian battery and cell phone EPR stewardship program via retail drop-off networks. It is comparable to HPSA as an emerging player using the same EPR-stewardship, retail-drop-off distribution model for a different (non-health) product category, making it a structural analog.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HealthStewardca
• Facebookfacebook.com/HealthProductStewards

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Health Products Stewardship Association