Concept Of Extended Producer Responsibility Research Articles

Prospects of implementing the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) concept for used laptops in Bandung City, Indonesia

Currently, laptop becomes an electronic product that is widely used by the public. Similar with other electronic products, a laptop potentially becomes a used product or waste if it no longer has the desired technical specifications and/or have passed their service life. The management of used laptop in Indonesia is currently not carried out institutionally and relies more on the informal sector, including unofficial shops or service points for further handling. This paper aims to determine the potential of implementing the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for the management of used laptops preffered by consumers and used laptop shops in the city of Bandung. Questionnaires were obtained from respondents consisting of 80 households and 83 used laptop shops and/or service points. There were 3 types of treatment that are dominantly carried out by respondents of consumers to their used laptops, namely : just keep them at home (46%), give them to other people (27%) and sell them to traders/service points (18%). Although 60% of the respondents did not know about EPR, it found that 81% of them were willing to pay more when buying a new laptop for handling used laptops and 90% were willing to follow the take back scheme as an alternative to implementing the EPR concept. Similar results were also obtained from respondents of used laptop shops/service places. 83% of the respondents did not know about EPR, 86% of them were willing to participate if the EPR concept was implemented, including through a willingness to pay a higher price for laptops to distributors (65%) and were willing to paticipate a take back scheme (82%). Although the results above show positive prospects for the EPR concept to be implemented, other stakeholders should be involved while proposing the most suitable scheme of the EPR concept.

Fostering the circular economy through private law: Perspectives from the extended producer responsibility concept

Fostering the circular economy through private law: Perspectives from the extended producer responsibility concept

The Concept of Extended Producer Responsibility in the Field of Packaging Industry and the Energy Sector in the Light of the Circular Economy—The Example of Poland

The aim of this article is to analyze the effectiveness of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) concept for packaging in the context of the transition to a Circular Economy (CE) and the corresponding transformation of the energy sector. The functioning of today’s packaging industry is becoming more and more linked to the assumptions of the CE due to the use and recycling of raw materials. The basic research method used in this work is an analysis of the literature on the links between the concept of the EPR and the CE. The authors limited their research to the selected legal, economic and social aspects of packaging production and management in the European Union (EU). The situation in Poland is discussed in particular and the legal, economic and social specificity of the implementation of the EPR in this country is presented. This paper emphasizes the dependance between the implementation of the EPR concept and the effectiveness of the transformation toward a CE, which is achieved by increasing the circularity in the energy sector.

The environmental component of ESG factors from the standpoint of management in a closed-loop economy

Various approaches to the implementation of the concept of extended producer responsibility in the European Union are considered, and the features of the introduction and use of the closed-cycle economy in European countries are determined. Some examples of the impact of waste legislation on the production cycle of a product in the European Union are considered, as well as the main obstacles that manufacturers had to face when trying to introduce the extended producer responsibility concept in its current form into production. The key problems of using and implementing the concept under consideration in the economy are highlighted. The interrelation of ESG factors as guidelines for strategic development with the need for the development of mechanisms of extended producer responsibility is shown. The prospects for the development of extended producer responsibility in Russian production are also outlined.

Provision of extended producer responsibility system for products packaging: A case study of Iran

A powerful legal tool in evolving solid waste management (SWM) systems is extended producer responsibility (EPR). It is a mechanism that shifts the responsibility of a product to manufacturers/importers at the 'end-of-life' stage. Yet, implementation of the EPR concept has faced difficulties in developing countries. In Iran, as one such country, the principle of EPR system was issued in executive regulation of SWM in 2005, however, so far, it has been limited to a voluntary scheme. The problem merits further investigation. Therefore, this study aims to shed light on the obstacles in the path of developing EPR system for product packaging. The research examines the current SWM systems in four functional classified frameworks: legal, institutional, financial and technical. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the system are elaborated through semi-structured interviews with a senior executive in the Ministry of Interior (MoI). Then, viable methods to increase resource efficiency and sustainable waste treatment are suggested. The change in the financing mechanism in the Budget Law 2020 forces the manufacturers/importers of products containing recyclable components to pay the revenue from one in 1000 products to MoI for developing recycling facilities and incinerators through partnerships with the private sector. This new strategy would promote proper management of product packaging, create more jobs and a market for international cooperation. However, poor source-separation of wet/dry waste, informal sector activities, exclusive focus on the economic aspect of waste management, lack of expertise and public awareness campaigns are the barriers in this regard.

E-waste Management for Environmental Sustainability: an Exploratory Study

This paper aims to reveal the role of e-waste management practices for environmental sustainability and explores people’s awareness level about e-waste management, its generation, and primary treatment practices in educational institutions. The empirical study is conducted in India through a well-structured questionnaire distributed among engineering students. Six critical aspects of e-waste, i.e., generation, management, nature of e-waste components, progressive use of e-waste management, control, and training, are studied. This study’s outcome reveals that the awareness level of e-waste generation and its processing practices are deficient, but the extended producer responsibility concept is becoming influential. Despite appreciable steps taken by the competent authorities, only a small population is aware of e-waste management. The respondents are aware of the hazardous effects of e-waste and its progressive usage. The ‘inclusion of e-waste in study programs’ is desired by the prospective engineering graduates.

Post-Consumer plastic packaging waste management in Indonesia: a producer responsibility approach

In a country with a large and diverse population such as Indonesia, the waste problem is difficult to solve, especially in urban areas. The growth of the population in urban areas has been accompanied by their rapid development of infrastructure and industrial growth. The dynamic lifestyle of urban communities changes their consumption behavior to products that are more practical in packaging. There are fundamental things that arise in the waste management system in Indonesia, including limited waste management capacity in the regions, inadequate infrastructure, implementation of regulations, and a lack of public concern, including the manufacturing industry, on waste management issues. Through the approach of the concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR). However, EPR concept implementation in developing countries is still lacking, where the collection and recycling system has not been adequately addressed. On the other hand, the industrial sector does not yet have enough attention to expand its product responsibilities for the post-consumption stage. This article presents an overview of current practices of post-consumer packaging waste management through an extended producer responsibility mechanism in Indonesia. More specifically, this study focused on consumer goods manufacturing industries. Based on the literature study, various industrial efforts have been shown to adopt the EPR concept in handling its product packaging waste.

Adoption of sustainable solid waste management and treatment approaches: A case study of Iran.

Developing countries face serious environmental, social and economic challenges when it comes to managing different kinds of solid waste. Iran, as one such country, is forced to deal with many difficulties including the absence of a comprehensive policy framework, a lack of technical know-how, insufficient financial resources and lack of proper disposal facilities. This study attempts to suggest ways to overcome those problems by providing applicable waste management solutions to the local conditions. The research was performed in four structured phases: diagnosis of the existing solid waste management system practised, identification of areas of weakness in the waste management frameworks, bridging the gaps to ensure the sustainability of the concepts offered, and finally the provision of affordable solutions. A source-separated collection system for wet and dry fractions was drawn up. Establishment of a mechanical biological treatment facility and the introduction of biological treatment technology were considered as the main treatment options. From the economic point of view, the extended producer responsibility concept was provided as a resource management tool. The involvement of the stakeholders, as well as the public-private partnership model, was identified as the cornerstone in the planning and implementing of the new approaches. A roadmap was consequently designed aimed at gradually introducing a waste management system in a sustainable and environmentally sound manner.

An optimum treatment for waste electronic home appliance in remote area: The case of Kinmen, Taiwan

An optimum treatment system for the waste electronic home appliance in remote area by local pre-processing and outsourcing post-processing is proposed. The cost reduction potential of the proposed treatment system is presented for main four types of electronic home appliances by the case study of Kinmen, Taiwan. Implementation of local pre-processing in Kinmen, Taiwan can provide 42, 54, 32, and 41 TWD unit cost reduction for television, washing machine, refrigerator, and air conditioner, respectively, comparing to the current treatment system. The different treatment characteristics according to the type of the appliances are the major factors for the applicability and cost reduction potential of the local pre-processing system. The application of this system to other cases is presented by sensitivity analysis with relative labor cost and transportation distance as the parameters. The results and the analysis process can be applied to the domestic systems with regions without recycling facilities, and also the international systems under the extended producer responsibility concept to take back the products for recycling.

The importance of Extended Producer Responsibility and the National Policy of Solid Waste in Brazil

This paper presents an overview of the current situation of the reverse logistics schemes in Brazil and the importance of the National Policy of Solid Waste enacted in 2010, the main regulatory milestone in the country. In addition, the work intends to comprehend extended producer responsibility (EPR) in Europe as an environmental principle, the representative directives related to this issue, the targets, the economic incentives and their consequences. Assuredly, Brazilian cities can use the European EPR schemes as parameters to set up the guidelines in short and long terms. This article leads to the conclusion that the EPR regulation and economic instruments can promote diverting of waste from landfills to reusing, recycling and recovering treatments. The recommendations of this study are to introduce the possibility of a circular economy in Brazil modelled on the European EPR concept, through public policies and economic instruments in order to upgrade the waste hierarchy.

The importance of Extended Producer Responsibility and the National Policy of Solid Waste in Brazil

This paper presents an overview of the current situation of the reverse logistics schemes in Brazil and the importance of the National Policy of Solid Waste enacted in 2010, the main regulatory milestone in the country. In addition, the work intends to comprehend extended producer responsibility (EPR) in Europe as an environmental principle, the representative directives related to this issue, the targets, the economic incentives and their consequences. Assuredly, Brazilian cities can use the European EPR schemes as parameters to set up the guidelines in short and long terms. This article leads to the conclusion that the EPR regulation and economic instruments can promote diverting of waste from landfills to reusing, recycling and recovering treatments. The recommendations of this study are to introduce the possibility of a circular economy in Brazil modelled on the European EPR concept, through public policies and economic instruments in order to upgrade the waste hierarchy.

Understanding public knowledge and awareness on e-waste in an urban setting in India

Purpose – Despite legislation in place, there is still a gap in knowledge and awareness of the communities on the issues of e-waste handling and management. It is important to understand the knowledge and awareness levels of the consumers of electronic products who ultimately become the generators of e-waste in a community. The current study is based on a survey conducted in an urban setting to understand people's perception about the genesis of issues related to e-waste and its management. The purpose of this paper is to study the findings that could help in designing customized awareness programmes for addressing this concern more effectively. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted in Delhi to understand public knowledge and awareness related to e-waste management in the city and country. A limited random survey was conducted with a sample size of 400 individuals in Delhi from middle class belonging to different educational backgrounds and professions. Personal interview method was used to collect in-depth information related to the issues of e-waste and its management. A questionnaire was developed and pilot tested before actual start of the survey. The questionnaire consisted of two sections – first about baseline information related to their age, family size, family income and educational background and second on their knowledge and awareness regarding e-waste and its management. Also, the practices they followed regarding e-waste at their household level were enquired. The questionnaire consisted of both open-ended and close-ended questions. Most of the questions had multiple-choice options, which made it easy for the respondents to answer them appropriately. The open-ended question gave the respondents ample time and space to express their views. The open-ended questions besides strengthening the close-ended questions provided a lot of qualitative information and made the study interesting. Apart from just interviewing, informal interactions were also used as a tool for data collection. During the course of the study, informal interactions were done with respondents to familiarize them with the objectives of the present study, their role and benefits to them from the study. Findings – The present study aimed to gauge the awareness levels and practices of people regarding e-waste management. The survey conducted in Delhi revealed that significant fraction of middle-class population is still unaware of the issue; however, on getting the information they were able to link the impacts of improper management of e-waste with detrimental health outcomes. For those who knew about it, the main sources of information to them were found to be internet, and print media. However, despite some awareness about the issue, most respondents were totally unaware about correct ways of its recycling and management. An important finding of the study was that 12-26 per cent people replace their major electronic goods like refrigerators, food processors, personal computers and music systems within the first three years of purchase. Discarding products within their periods of useful lives leads to enhanced generation of e-wastes. Along with e-waste generation, this also puts additional stress over the resources used for manufacturing of these products. On management of e-waste, most of the respondents opined of need of having efficient recycling units and effective mass awareness programmes. The survey also revealed the willingness of users to pay extra cost for proper management of e-waste provided that there is proper cost sharing between consumers and producers. This also raises an important aspect of extended producer responsibility (EPR). EPR puts additional responsibility and onus on the manufacturer of the product to not only produce durable quality of products but also take back the obsolete products and manage the e-waste. This also means that the manufacturers will have to use recyclable material in manufacturing of new products for economic management of e-waste at the later stage. Although, in Indian context it would be a challenge to implement the concept of EPR, especially with the active informal sector. The respondents quite adequately put equal responsibilities on the government, consumers and producers for effective e-waste management. The study clearly highlights the issues perceived by the middle-class population of Delhi and can be replicated in other major cities for re-authentication of the facts. The study could prove to be important in designing awareness programme related to the issue. Originality/value – This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey-based study that was employed to understand the perception of a sample of respondents. Analysis of the data reveals that the knowledge on the issue of e-waste is minimal and requires massive awareness drives for senitization.

The Generation, Impact, and Management of E-Waste: State of the Art

Even as the world has been unsuccessfully trying to dispose off the rising quantities of its municipal solid waste (MSW) and hazardous waste (HW) in a clean manner, it has been confronted with an even more complex problem—of e-waste. Only a few countries in the developed world are able to scientifically recycle or dispose the e-waste they generate. In other developed countries only a fraction of the e-waste is properly recycled, the rest is either incinerated or sent to landfills—which are solutions that cause serious secondary problems. Worse still, a sizeable portion of the e-waste generated in the developed world is exported to developing countries where it is recycled or dumped without any concern for the gross pollution that is being caused. It can be said that if the situation vis-à-vis e-waste is posing a challenge in most developed counties, it is alarmingly bad in the developing world. In an attempt to contain the e-waste problem most of the developed world and several countries in the developing world have enacted legislation to curb illegal trafficking and unlicensed recycling of e-waste. These legislations invoke the extended producer responsibility concept based on life-cycle considerations in the hope that it will provide prevention as well as cure. Innumerable non-governmental organizations and citizen's groups have also been trying to help out. So far, all these measures together have achieved only a modicum of success—that, too, only in a few regions of the developed world—but if viewed on the global scale ever bigger streams of e-waste are threatening to join the rising tides of MSW and HW in engulfing the world. The present paper assesses the state-of-the-art, bringing out how and why the e-waste problem has been defying all attempts to contain it. The paper also brings out that—much the same way as has happened with MSW and HW—the size and the complexity of the e-waste problem is increasing at much faster rate than the efficacy of our strategies to contain it. This trend is not likely to reverse soon and the only viable means to solve the problem is to drastically reduce generation of waste.

Research on Reverse Logistics Mode and Implementation of EPR

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a suite of policy tools for reducing the generation of wastes by promoting greater recycling and resource recovery and encouraging more sustainable product design. The concept of EPR and purpose is proposed. Three recovery modes and characteristics of the EPR are analyzed and corresponding implementation measurements are proposed.

Policy trends of extended producer responsibility in Malaysia

This paper seeks to examine the provisions for extended producer responsibility (EPR) within the Malaysian environmental and waste management policies and to determine its existing practice and future prospects in Malaysia. Malaysian waste generation has been increasing drastically where solid waste generation was estimated to increase from about 9.0 million tonnes in 2000 to about 10.9 million tonnes in 2010, to about 12.8 million tonnes in 2015 and finally to about 15.6 million tonnes in 2020. Malaysian e-waste was estimated to be about 652 909 tonnes in 2006 and was estimated to increase to about 706 000 tonnes in 2010 and finally to about 1.2 million tonnes in 2020. The projected increasing generation of both solid waste and scheduled wastes is expected to burden the country's resources and environment in managing these wastes in a sustainable manner. The concept of EPR is provided for in the Malaysia waste management system via the Environmental Quality Act 1974 and the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007. However, these provisions in the policy are generic in nature without relevant regulations to enable its enforcement and as such the concept of EPR still remains on paper whereas the existing practice of EPR in Malaysia is limited through voluntary participation. In conclusion, policy trends of EPR in Malaysia seem to indicate that Malaysia may be embarking on the path towards EPR through the enactment of an EPR regulation.

Computer waste management: a review on Indian initiatives

Increased consumption of electronic products has led to rise in volume of e-waste generated. Computer hardware waste is an important component in terms of its volume and hazardous materials contained, causing environmental risk and health hazards. This is posing a serious challenge in India as the country lacks environmentally safe disposal and recycling processes. This paper critically presents the initiatives being taken in various metropolitan cities of India like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore for managing computer waste. Global initiatives especially in context of the European Union (EU), Switzerland and China have also been critically discussed. Concept of EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) has to be given attention while making draft guidelines for managing e-waste holistically.

A management system for end-of-life tyres: A Portuguese case study

The European Union introduced several policy instruments based in the extended producer responsibility (EPR) in order to improve the environmental performance of products and services through their life cycles. In this context, the Portuguese government decided to apply the EPR concept to tyres, and producers were obliged to constitute an end-of-life management system to promote the collection, recycling and reuse of end-of-life (EOL) tyres. This required producers, distributors, recyclers and retreaders to be identified and characterized, and local processing infrastructures to be analyzed. The information was used to design an economically optimised EOL tyre management system while promoting the activity of all EOL operators in order for the imposed collecting and recovery targets to be fulfilled. This paper discusses the interaction between the different governmental, private and academic institutions for the creation of the integrated management system for EOL tyres, the approach taken, the technical, political and legal aspects underneath them, as well as the environmental consequences induced by the creation of the management system. The results obtained during the first years of operation are reported and show an increase in the collection and recycling of EOL tyres and the consolidation of the collection and processing infrastructures.

The Comparison of Waste Home Appliances Recycling System in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan-From an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Perspective-

ABSTRACT Although Japan, Korea, and Taiwan are all East Asian countries, there are marked differences in the recycling policies, motivations, and methodologies of each country. One reflection of differences is the approaches each country has taken toward the OECD proposal for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). I consider the relationship of local governments and producers in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan from a perspective of EPR. First, I provide an outline of the establishment of waste home appliances (WHA) recycling systems. And then, I consider responsibility of each related subjects in these three countries. Lastly, I prepare the differences of EPR concept of each country.