Extended Producer Responsibility Policy Research Articles

Plastic Packaging Waste Management: A Case in Implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility Policies in Minnesota

The plastic pollution crisis is a global challenge affecting governments, private citizens, and the environment. Plastic packaging, which makes up approximately 40% of all plastic material produced globally, accounts for less than 10% of recycled material. This discrepancy highlights the rapid growth of various plastic types and difficulty for local governments to implement needed waste management practices or meet required capacities. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a model for multiple waste streams that places the post-consumer responsibility of a product on the producer. As governments seek to develop legislation to better manage plastic waste, EPR is a policy tool that will promote circularity. This paper discusses the successes and challenges of EPR policies in the European Union (EU), and in states that have enacted them, particularly in California. Many states have introduced or are seeking to introduce legislation on EPR for plastic packaging in the next few years. The Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act, a bill for a product stewardship program for plastic and paper packaging materials was recently introduced in the Minnesota state legislature in 2024. This policy paper discusses several EPR policy options and recommendations to improve transparency and success of future EPR bills in states seeking to enact legislation, including Minnesota.

Unraveling the complexity of extended producer responsibility policy mix design, implementation, and transfer dynamics in the European Union

AbstractExtended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging was introduced to achieve closed‐loop end‐of‐life management and design for recyclability and is an integral part of the European Union's (EU) environmental policy mix. Despite common objectives, EPR systems differ across EU member states in design and implementation. Existing cross‐country comparisons often fall short of systematizing EPR and reflecting its complexity. Understanding the components and interdependencies of EPR is crucial for adjusting policy design. This article links previously isolated components of EPR and studies the design, implementation, and transfer of EPR systems in 25 European countries through a developmental approach. It extends EPR theory by systematizing EPR design features at three hierarchical levels: system scope, responsibility allocation, and instrument type. It then tests the approach by systematically examining similarities and differences, including a uniform coding process and cluster analysis. My results indicate that EPR for plastic packaging is becoming increasingly fine‐grained and diverse. I show that ‘‘path‐dependencies’’ emerge between certain features at the responsibility allocation level. I also find common implementation patterns across countries revolving around, for example, EPR market structure or producer responsibility type. System scope converges across countries, while instrument types are becoming increasingly multi‐faceted. I find that policy transfer mechanisms, such as first‐mover dynamics and geographic proximity, have likely influenced existing landscapes of EPR design across the EU. These insights provide an intriguing first step toward deeper analysis of EPR design and, if further extended, can be operationalized for future ex ante or ex post policy analysis of EPR system setups.

Extended producer responsibility’s effect on producers’ electronic waste management practices in Japan and Canada: drivers, barriers, and potential of the urban mine

Electronic waste is the fastest-growing domestic waste stream globally, continuously outstripping projections. With increasing ubiquity of complex computing, many non-renewables are contained in end-of-life electronics, creating a vast urban mine, potentially hazardous, depending on treatment. The aim of this study is to compare how Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy is applied in two case countries, Japan and Canada, the practical implications of EPR policy design on producer operations, and how EPR affects electronic waste management improvements in each case. These cases share international obligations for electronic waste management but employ contrasting EPR policies. These policies are widespread in both cases, yet are not presided over by larger, regional obligations. Therefore, country-level interviews with electronic waste management stakeholders focusing on how EPR regulation affects producer practice were conducted. The physical application of EPR, as seen in Japan, drives design changes by producers intending to simplify downstream treatment, while financial responsibility in Canada, creates greater concern with cost-savings for producers, complicating end-of-life processing. EPR implementation, along with specific geographical factors, also create contrasting resource recovery results between countries. Regulation primarily drives EPR implementation in both countries, which is consistent with the literature. This study presents new drivers and barriers, namely pre-emptive legislation, and no incentive to improve, classifying the Japanese and Canadian systems as suffering from externalities on an insular system, and lack of harmonization, respectively. This research addresses a gap in comparative studies across regions of physical and financial EPR effects on producer practice.

Challenges of implementing extended producer responsibility for plastic-waste management: lessons from India

PurposeIn the transition towards circular economy and sustainable development, effective implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation is crucial to prevent plastic-waste generation and promote recycling activities. The purpose of this study is to undertake a qualitative analysis to examine recent EPR policy changes, implementation, barriers and enabling conditions.Design/methodology/approachIn-depth interviews and group discussions with key stakeholders were undertaken to derive the barriers and facilitators of EPR implementation. Based on opinions and insights from a wide range of participants, this study identified a number of key issues faced by various parties in implementing EPR in India.FindingsStakeholders agree on a lack of clarity on various policy aspects, such as mandatory approval of urban local bodies, registration of recyclers/waste processors and consistency in the definition of technical terms. This paper provides useful policy inputs to address these challenges and to develop comprehensive EPR policy systems. More consultation and deliberation across various stakeholders is required to ensure the policies are effective.Practical implicationsIndia’s plastic-waste generation has increased at a rapid pace over the past five years and is expected to grow at a higher rate in the future. This research provides implications for policymakers to formulate coherent policies that align with the interests of brand owners and recyclers. Clear policy suggestions and improvements for effective plastic-waste management in India are also outlined.Originality/valueThis paper, based on a qualitative approach, contributes to research on plastic-waste management by integrating the perspectives of all EPR-policy stakeholders in India.

Plastic pollution and extended producer responsibility policy: views from industry in Bandung City

Plastic pollution and extended producer responsibility policy: views from industry in Bandung City

PHYSICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE CANADIAN STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMS ON EMPTY PLASTIC BEVERAGE CONTAINERS IN SASKATCHEWAN AND ALBERTA PROVINCES

Stewardship programs are gradually being phased out in favor of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, which are used in various forms in different Canadian provinces. An example is the British Columbia province's EPR program on empty plastic beverage containers. Provinces like Saskatchewan and Alberta, on the other hand, continue to rely on stewardship programs and are in the process of incorporating the EPR policy as a program into their waste management regulations. Therefore, this study will discuss how stewardship program policies have helped to solve a portion of the plastic waste problem; however, negotiations to fully integrate the EPR program into Saskatchewan and Alberta waste management policies are still ongoing. The significance of this study has demonstrated how stewardship programs in Saskatchewan and Alberta have promoted the reuse and recycling economy of plastic management to a limited extent in these respective provinces. A case study method was used to analyze and investigate the stewardship program, with a focus on plastic bottle management. Field observations were conducted at selected recycling companies (Sarcan recycling and Alberta beverage container recycling corporation) in Saskatchewan and Alberta to correlate the data gathered during the investigation, as presented in this research outcome. Implementing the EPR program, according to the study's findings, may be the most effective way for Canada to achieve a circular economy of plastic waste management.

The Decision-Making Analysis on End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling and Remanufacturing under Extended Producer Responsibility Policy

This research develops a dual-cycle ELV recycling and remanufacturing system to better understand and improve the efficiency of the ELV recycling and remanufacturing businesses. For the flawless operation of this system, the researchers employed evolutionary game theory to establish a game model between original vehicle manufacturers (OVMs) and third-party recyclers with the government involved. This research presents evolutionary stable strategies (ESS) that could promote an ELV recycling and remanufacturing system. Results show that OVMs’ expected profit difference between choosing and not choosing authorization is crucial in their ESS. The licensing fee plays a part of OVMs’ expected profit difference. Based on the results, optimal ESS could be achieved when the OVMs’ expected profit difference between choosing authorization and not choosing authorization and the third-party recyclers’ profit when paying the licensing fee are both positive. Then, the two groups’ involvement in dual-cycle ELV recycling and the remanufacturing system can be ensured. This research implicates the government to devise appropriate reward and punishment strategy to encourage OVMs and third-party recyclers to collaborate for efficient recycling and remanufacturing systems. Particularly, the government is suggested to impose strict restrictions on OVMs to carry ELV recycling and provide support to promote recycling quantity standards. Hence, the ELV recycling and remanufacturing system would be strengthened, thus improving waste management which is crucial for both environmental and resource efficiency.

Outsourcing remanufacturing and collecting strategies analysis with information asymmetry

Outsourcing remanufacturing as a strategy for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to implement extended producer responsibility policy has become an important research problem. Considering information asymmetry caused by a third-party remanufacturer (3PR) misreporting remanufacturing production cost, this paper examines outsourcing collecting strategy through evolutionary game approach, and further obtains the long-term outsourcing remanufacturing strategy. The remanufacturing modes explored include in-house (OEM) and outsourcing (3PR) remanufacturing. The collecting modes explored include in-house (OEM), outsourcing (3PR) and secondary outsourcing (third-party collector, 3PC) collecting. Moreover, this paper provides optimal decision-making based on misreporting and further discusses the impact of information asymmetry on outsourcing strategy. Meanwhile, this paper proposes a series of insights of long-term strategy by integrating the dimensions of economy, society and environment. Finally, an information sharing strategy to deal with 3PR misreporting is further analyzed. The major conclusions indicate that under outsourcing remanufacturing with OEM collecting, the 3PR prefers to misreport the remanufacturing production cost information downward, which will lead to a result that information asymmetry is beneficial to both OEM and 3PR. However, misreporting in other collecting modes is only beneficial for 3PR. The evolutionary stability strategy of collecting depends on the difficulty of collecting and whether the information is symmetrical, which also affects outsourcing remanufacturing strategy. Under a certain condition, Pareto improvement in economic, social and environmental dimensions can be achieved by the information sharing strategy.

Public-private partnership versus extended producer responsibility for end-of-life of photovoltaic modules management policy

Photovoltaic technology has afforded a sustainable and ecological solution for electricity production. In the first quarter of 2019, the global installed capacity has reached 480-Gigawatt peak, as reported by International Renewable Energy Agency. An enormous amount of End-of-life photovoltaic modules will emerge to the waste streams in the near future. A review of available legislation, policies, and guidelines revealed that end-of-life of photovoltaic modules’ management has not been addressed clearly in many countries. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive in the Europe Union is the only available code that has included the end-of-life of photovoltaic modules. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis was used to evaluate the end-of-life of photovoltaic modules’ waste management in Jordan. A quantitative strategic planning matrix was created to compare between the Europe Union’s Extended Producer Responsibility and Private-Public Partnership policy concepts. The quantitative results favor Private-Public Partnership at 5.7 over Extended Producer Responsibility at 4.9 for Jordan. This study offers policy enhancement recommendations for end-of-life of photovoltaic modules’ waste management; the proposed policy encourages both the government and the private sector share the responsibility to manage the waste resulting from using renewable energy technology.

Managing plastic packaging waste in emerging economies: The case of EPR in India

India's large population, rapidly growing economy, and the consequent rising plastic waste, has necessitated the need for an efficient and effective plastic waste management (PWM) system for ensuring an environmentally cleaner and sustainable future. Consequently, PWM policy in India has recently undergone a substantial shift from being an informally organized, largely uncoordinated set of programs towards becoming a formal and integrated system based on the extended producer responsibility (EPR) approach. This paper explicates the evolution, development, implementation, and implications of the Indian EPR framework for PWM by developing an integrative mixed-method case study. Using a theory-based stakeholder evaluation model, the study critically analyzes the drivers and constraining factors from a multi-stakeholder perspective and provides prescriptive suggestions on EPR policy formulation and implementation. It highlights three themes i.e., (a) robust regulatory architecture; (b) operational mechanism; and (c) ecosystem catalysts, whose nature, dynamics, and practicality shall determine the future of the Indian EPR framework and those of comparable emerging economies.

Extended Producer Responsibility in the Australian Construction Industry

With the COVID-19 outbreak across the world, policymakers and authorities have realised that they cannot solve the emerging issues using conventional policies and practices. COVID-19 has severely affected many industries, including construction and demolition (C&D) waste management and C&D waste resource recovery sector. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and schemes alike are policy instruments that prevent waste generation and promote a circular economy in the construction industry. These schemes are long adopted in various countries for different waste streams. EPR policy development and implementation, particularly for C&D waste, is still at an early stage in Australia. This study aims to review the Australian regulatory environment and practice to identify barriers and enablers towards successful policy development and implementation of C&D waste-related EPR. This study is based on secondary data that are publicly available. The document analysis was conducted to identify the level of regulatory and other stakeholders support in Australia. Following three rounds of examination of sources and applying multiple selection criteria, 59 different sources were reviewed in total. The results showed that there is widespread support among different stakeholders to develop EPR and expand the existing regulation to other materials. The barriers were cost and time implications for EPR policy establishment and enforcement, diversity of stakeholders involved, construction product lifecycle, responsibility of manufacturers, complexity in implantation of EPR regulations, modification inbuilt facilities and health and safety issues. Recommendations are made to alleviate these challenges. The outcome of this study could serve as a guideline for designing effective EPR policies.

Using citizen science to evaluate extended producer responsibility policy to reduce marine plastic debris shows no reduction in pollution levels

As governments around the world grapple with the challenge of responding to increased plastic pollution, extended producer responsibility (EPR) policy, which shifts the responsibility for waste management of a product to producers, is quickly becoming a cornerstone of legislative approaches to this issue. However, the effectiveness of this policy has never been assessed in terms of reducing plastic marine debris. Understanding if a policy like EPR is having an effect requires collecting and analyzing information before and after a policy is introduced. Using British Columbia, Canada as a case study, we evaluate the influence of an EPR policy for packaging to reduce shoreline pollution. We use available citizen science data to demonstrate that there has been no reduction in pollution levels after the introduction of the policy. The findings also highlight some limitations when using citizen science data for a purpose it was not intended for. To effectively evaluate prevention of plastic pollution in the marine environment, plastic policy interventions require monitoring programs tailored to their specific requirements.

Study of the Complexity Game of Supply Chain Green Innovation Introduction under EPR Policy and Government Subsidies

Nowadays, with global scientific and technological levels rapidly improving, innovation has been a great need for enterprises to solve the dilemma. Combined with EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) and the topic of remanufacturer, adopting green innovation has been an effective way when green supply chain management is applied. In this paper, we focus on the activity of green innovation and build a model where the manufacturer will invest in green innovation to improve the product availability rate of recycled products and save the cost in the process of remanufacturing. Besides, we take three stages in a cycle into consideration, that is, production/sale, recycling used production, and remanufacture/sale, and meanwhile, the government gives a subsidy to enterprises to encourage the activity of recycling. In the process of model solving, we take a dynamic decision-making way into consideration. We find that the decision adjustment speed of players has a significant effect on the stability, and in a long dynamic repeated game process, with the speed of decision adjustment increasing, the system enters into chaos at the end of the process. It is interesting that when the speed of decision adjustment exceeds the critical point of the bifurcation diagram, the profit of the manufacturer decreases and then enters a chaotic state. Besides, with the level of subsidies increasing, the area of stable region decreases gradually. Certain investment has a positive effect on product selling and recycling as well as the profit, and the government subsidy undoubtedly raises the profit of manufacturers and encourages the activity of recycling. In the end, we make chaos control by adjusting the decision method.

EPR system participants’ behavior: Evolutionary game and strategy simulation

Promoting the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system in an all-round way has become an essential part of China’s environmental regulations. A tripartite game model among the Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) department, producers and the public is constructed based on the non-cooperative evolutionary game theory. Then this paper uses a system dynamics method to simulate and analyze the proposed game model. It is found that benefits of “strict regulation” strategy and financial subsidies subsidized by a superior EPB help to ease behavioral conflicts among game players, but their positive moderating impacts are scant. Effects of administrative fines and rectification due to the “relaxed regulation” strategy are unpredictable, such that the principle of moderation must be taken into account when rewarding or punishing an inferior EPB. As far as the producer is concerned, policy compensation paid by the EPB department has a positive effect on easing conflicts, but the impact of administrative penalties exerted on the producer who violates EPR system behind the scenes is negative. The profit-making characteristic of producers makes the influence of EPR system acceptance cost uncertain, which also implies that a suitable policy system is beneficial to changing producers’ natural resistance to the EPR system. Noteworthy, effects of all the three factors on producers are lagging behind. Last but not least, under the premise of different environmental regulations, the public’s expectations of environmental protection play exactly the opposite role. This study provides detailed and enlightening suggestions to different countries for constructing a comprehensive EPR policy system.

Evaluation of a new extended producer responsibility mode for WEEE based on a supply chain scheme

China is promoting extended producer responsibility (EPR) for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). However, the present EPR policy in China, in fund mode, has been facing the challenge of fund deficit severely since 2016. A new sustainable EPR mode is needed to solve this problem. In this paper, a mandatory recycling EPR mode is designed and studied as a potential solution. A quantitative evaluation system is innovatively established to evaluate the effectiveness of the mode and to compare the new mode to the present mode. The evaluation system first summarizes a supply chain scheme of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) in each mode, which describes the life cycle of China's EEE from products to wastes to renewed resources. The supply chain schemes are complex since they contain five to six different stakeholders. Then classical game theory models are applied to the supply chain scheme based on the interaction among different stakeholders to calculate the indicators used for evaluation. At last, the two modes are compared in terms of economic, environmental and social effects in the case of the air-conditioner market. Results show the mandatory recycling mode is similar to the fund mode in economic and social effects. It is more financially sustainable, capable of enabling a higher recycling rate and more beneficial to certified recycling companies. Therefore, applying the recycling obligation mode in the future to maintain the EPR system is recommended.

Reverse Logistics of End-of-Life Plastics Using Industrial IoT and LPWAN Technologies – A Proposed Solution for the Bottled Water Industry

The proliferation of the production of plastics when coupled with the high rates of landfilling and incineration of plastic waste, has an extremely negative impact on the environment and casts a long shadow over manufacturing companies, failing to manage efficiently their End-of-Life plastics and capture the financial and social benefits of a more circular and sustainable manufacturing practice. This paper proposes a LoRa-based plastic waste tracking solution, which utilizes information from LoRa end-nodes (sensors) embedded on product’s packaging, collects and analyzes smart packaging sensor information on a cloud-based control platform and provides reports, detailing waste land paths and highlighting land/sea plastic waste accumulation areas. The proposed solution aims to contribute in reducing plastic waste produced from bottled water manufacturers by enhancing the visibility of their Reverse Logistics, supporting their Product Life Management (PLM) efforts and last but not least, making them more compliant with the Extended Producer Responsibility policy (EPR).

Market-based tools for a plastic waste reduction policy in agriculture: A case study in the south of Italy

The 2018 European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy identifies a set of actions to reduce plastic waste in the EU in the near future. To implement this strategic view, appropriate policy tools need to be identified within Member Countries. The present work aims at investigating farmers’ attitudes towards the use of traditional market-based tools (i.e. subsidies and tax-credits) as well as other initiatives such as a pay-back mechanism under an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to reduce plastic waste in agriculture.We analyse the case of the province of Foggia, an area which is recognised as being the largest plain in southern Italy. We consider a survey of 1,783 farmers and a multinomial regression model to infer on the probability of adopting the above policy tools.Key results suggest that the choice of each policy tool would be affected by the type of plastic waste generated. In particular, plastic packaging and plastic films would be likely to affect the probability to opt for a subsidy. In contrast, other types of plastic waste mainly generated by cereal crops activities (e.g. plastic bags and bottles for fertilisers and chemicals) would favour the adoption of a tax-credit mechanism. As for other aspects, horticulture production and the proximity to a collection site for waste disposal would increase the probability of adopting an EPR policy to contribute to plastic waste reduction.

Extended producer responsibility for waste tyres in the EU: Lessons learnt from three case studies – Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands

The article compares the performance of three Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems for tyres and discusses the respective policy context that leads to these results. It aims to give insight into the varied implementation of EPR policy through the presentation of case studies. The EPR systems for tyres in Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands are described and common success factors as well as weaknesses are examined. The systems mainly differ in respect of scope and targets for material and energy recovery. The presented case studies assign physical (through a take-back obligation) as well as financial (through an advanced disposal fee) responsibility to the producers. EPR for tyres has been found to reduce flytipping and illegal stockpiling of tyres; increase resource efficiency by increased recycling; and move waste tyre management up the waste hierarchy. It is found that best results for recycling are achieved, if the legislation sets quantitative targets and clearly defines waste status of tyres to maximise local reuse/retread. It is argued however, that recycling is favourable over reuse/retread in the case of waste tyres. The case studies show that an EPR system is no guarantee for waste treatment in the most environmentally sound way. An EPR system will only achieve its objectives if properly designed, implemented and enforced. If legislation allows, Producer Responsibility Organisations will find the cheapest, not the environmentally most favourable, solution for waste management.

Operational Perspectives on Extended Producer Responsibility

SummaryWe revisit three important assumptions about extended producer responsibility (EPR) that originate from academia, policy, or practice: (1) A central objective of EPR should be to induce product designs for the environment; (2) collective EPR implementations mute incentives to design for the environment; and (3) more stringent EPR policy parameters will generate better environmental outcomes. We discuss the potential shortcomings of these assumptions from an operations perspective and their implications for academic and policy research.

Challenges in implementing the extended producer responsibility in an emerging economy: The end-of-life tire management in Colombia

Abstract With increasing problems related to the management of end-of-life products, emerging economies have adopted an environmental policy principle – Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), following the example of OECD countries. Colombia was one of the early adopters in Latin America, having introduced EPR in 2007 to manage several end-of-life products, such as pesticide containers, medicines, lead acid batteries, light bulbs, small batteries, computers, and tires. However, there has been no comprehensive investigation into how EPR has been applied in the context of Colombia. Using the case of end-of-life tires, this study aimed to provide an understanding about two aspects of the EPR system in Colombia: the governance structure and the performance in the end-of-life management. This study found that the Colombian EPR governance model imposes full financial and operational responsibilities on tire producers and importers, while it fails to incentivize other actors in the product chain to carry out their allocated tasks and responsibilities. As for the performance, the EPR system has increased the amount of tires collected over the last five years, but the level is low compared with other developed countries, and more importantly, it does not fully promote the recovery of values from tire waste. The analysis of the current situation in Colombia and lessons from other countries suggest that the effectiveness of the EPR policy would require the establishment of solid, but feasible targets, while allowing flexibility in meeting those targets. It would also benefit from the consideration of economic instruments, as well as establishment of complementary policies to promote innovation and strengthen the regulatory controls over the free riders and management of tire waste.