Extended Producer Responsibilty
EPR
Kirstie Pecci of the Conservation Law Foundation (now with Just Zero) and Judith Enck of Beyond Plastics have been tirelessly working on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws and deposit return systems in several states. This interview with Matt Prindiville, of Upstream's Indisposable Podcast, provides excellent explanations of "good" vs. "bad" EPR, with essential details and sound arguments for strong EPR policy.
From Beyond Plastics and Just Zero, 2022
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a policy tool that makes producers legally and financially responsible for easing the environmental impacts of their products and packaging.
Natural Resources Council of Maine
Streamed on 15th June 2021
"EPR can be more than a financing tool for recycling. It’s an opportunity to improve transparency, incentivize better packaging design and reduce carbon emissions."
"To stop packaging pollution we need a circular economy where we eliminate what we don't need, innovate towards new packaging, products and business models, and circulate all the packaging we do use. To circulate packaging, we need dedicated, ongoing, and sufficient funding for collection, sorting, and recycling – otherwise the economics simply do not stack up – it costs more to do, than the money it makes.
The only proven way to provide the necessary funding is through schemes where the companies putting packaging on the market are required to pay for its collection, sorting, and recycling — such schemes are called extended producer responsibility (EPR).
Articles and Resources
SWANA also has a Technical Policy Statement
"The Producer Pays," The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, April 4, 2017.
"Improving Recycling in Washington through Producer Responsibility Policy: Costs and Benefits," King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks Solid Waste Division, December 2020.
Henry Hintermeister, "Companies that make single-use plastics shouldn't escape the cost of the cleanup," The Public Interest Network, March 7, 2021.
"Extended Producer Responsibility," National Conference of State Legislatures, October 2023.
"Ten EPR bills introduced in 2024 so far" by Marissa Heffernan in Resource Recycling. Published: March 1, 2024
One-pager
2- page fact sheet
EPR helps improve recycling rates.
More on EPR and DRS from Upstream
