Extended Producer Responsibility

Today, over-consumption, pollution and resource depletion threaten sustainability. Waste management policies frequently fail to reduce consumption, prevent pollution, conserve resources and foster sustainable products. However, waste policies are changing to focus on lifecycle impacts of products from the cradle to the grave by extending the responsibilities of stakeholders to post-consumer management. Product stewardship and extended producer responsibility are two policies in use, with radically different results when compared for one consumer product, refrigerators. North America has enacted product stewardship policies that fail to require producers to take physical or financial responsibility for recycling or for environmentally sound disposal, so that releases of ozone depleting substances routinely occur, which contribute to the expanding the ozone hole. Conversely, Europe's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive requires extended producer responsibili...

Extended producer responsibility is an important environmental policy expected to increase producer environmental innovation through source reduction, collection effort and recyclability. Using a model of vertical differentiation, we propose to test the effectiveness of the application of the extended producer responsibility (EPR) through two complementary measures: eco-tax and adhesion to eco-organization. We focus on the importance of funding modalities membership on the achievement of environmental objectives. Simulation results show the need of mix policy instruments in the field of packaging waste. Instruments efficiency should be evaluated with regard to environmental targets and should permit the total transfer of responsibility to producer.

Our report aims to explore recent advances in EPR and to provide recommendations for the stakeholders involved in this market. After a brief introduction on the history of EPR in Europe, we
discuss pending issues in the current practice of EPR, with particular emphasis on the WEEE Directive and its Recast as they are the focus of recent discussions on implementation. Then, based on a series of interviews with a set of stakeholders, we analyze the perspectives and key concerns regarding EPR implementation.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 12: Responsible consumption and production and 14: Life Below Water coincide in the targeting of the problem of plastic pollution. The problem has been garnering immense media attention in the recent years. Efforts to reduce unnecessary plastic consumption have been seen in social movements, in corporate policies and most noticeably, in regulatory control in the form of bans for specific types of single-use plastic items. A paradox exists as, arguably, civilization cannot sustain its current developmental momentum without the use of plastics, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic demanding higher levels of protection and hygiene. An ideal goal for the transformation of the plastic value chain is the concept of circular economythe complete return of post-consumer plastic waste (PCPW) for repeated re-consumption after recovery and recycling processes. Hence, corporate engagement to manage the plastic value chain in ways that commit to the creation of circular economies is crucial. While reduction and substitution are being pursued, the current scale of the plastic production is still expected to remain the same or increase for the next few years as life cycle assessments (LCA), test trials of consumer acceptance towards novel delivery mechanisms and other forms of innovation are emerging. The reduction of plastics in the private-sector is allegedly ongoing but still intangible in Asia as daily lives continue to rely heavily on single-use plastics and large amounts of plastic packaging. While recovery and collection innovations are underway for application and are picking up speed, there is still an unfathomable amount of marine litter entering waterways, which aggravates the bigger-than-ever problem of plastic pollution in Asia. Responsible production has long adopted the concept of credits. Carbon credits are the most notable one, while palm oil credits are also prominently purchased by manufacturers to offset any palm oil content that is not yet sourced from certified sustainable suppliers. The concept of credits for plastics is currently sporadically seen across the world, especially in developing regions of Asia, but remains much less explored than their counterparts for other commodities. "Plastic neutrality" or "net plastic circularity" in the form of credit purchasing by businesses could likely be the final missing piece of the puzzle picturing a circular economy, especially as an interim measure and later as a component to be integrated into existing and upcoming extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes. In theory, the credit system could serve as an offsetting mechanism to recover an equivalent or higher amount of plastics to be produced by the credit-purchasing responsible manufacturer. This paper explores how responsible plastic production, accounting, recovery and offsetting could be enabled through standardized plastic credits, similar to the existing carbon and sustainable palm oil credit systems, could be applied in Asia to achieve the goal of recovery of plastics for circularity.

El objetivo es estimar la generación, recolección, composición, tratamiento y disposición de residuos municipales a partir del análisis de las 15 regiones del país para obtener de ello el global nacional. La información recopilada es obtenida a partir de distintas fuentes: encuestas, visitas a terreno, entrevistas electrónicas y/o telefónicas, estudios de diagnósticos regionales, estadísticas INE (proyección 2000-2020), etc., las cuales nos entregan información relevante para completar las tablas SW-5A, SW-5B y SW-5C que se debe entregar a la OCDE. Criterios generales utilizados en la determinación de generación de residuos sólidos municipales La metodología aplicada para estimar la generación de residuos municipales se presenta a continuación: 1. A partir de las encuestas recibidas de municipios y para cada región por separado, se obtiene el porcentaje poblacional de cobertura de la encuesta, utilizando la población cubierta por encuesta y la población regional (estadísticas INE proyección 2000-2020). Este dato es de utilidad para cubrir el total regional de residuos municipales. 2. La información necesaria de residuos recolectados para las comunas donde no se tuvo respuesta de encuesta, se obtuvo a partir de índices calculados a partir de la información de encuestas recibidas por región y la población de las comunas en cuestión. Finalmente la generación de las comunas sin respuesta de encuesta, se obtiene del total recolectado y el porcentaje calculado del porcentaje de de la población con servicio de recolección, el cual depende directamente si la comuna es urbana, semiurbana o rural. Con ello se obtiene la generación y recolección de residuos sólidos municipales a nivel regional y nacional para los años 2007, 2008 y 2009. 3. Para el caso de las regiones donde no se obtuvo respuesta, se tomaron los factores de recolección de residuos de las encuestas de la región más cercana y con características similares, es el caso de la región de Tarapacá y Aysén, en las cuales se utilizaron los datos obtenidos de las encuestas recibidas de las regiones de Arica y Parinacota y Magallanes respectivamente. 4. La extrapolación de los residuos sólidos municipales recolectados para los años 2000 al 2006 se obtuvo de una tendencia lineal considerando los 3 años de encuesta y la información OCDE entregada por CONAMA del año 2008 (años 2000, 2005 y 2007). Con la información entregada por este procedimiento se obtiene un índice de crecimiento de residuos sólidos municipales recolectados a nivel nacional de un 3,5%.

El objetivo es estimar la generación de residuos sólidos producidos por distintas fuentes generadoras y que son reciclados es mostrado por la tabla 2A que se debe entregar a OCDE. Esta metodología se aplica a los residuos reciclados, provenientes del sector industrial y municipal, los residuos a considerar son los siguientes: Tabla MCT2-1: Resumen residuos reciclados Residuo Papel Vidrio Aluminio Plomo Otros metales no ferrosos Hierro Plástico Tetrapack Criterios utilizados en la selección de entidades recicladoras Dada la diversidad existente, se propuso que en cada región se encuestara a las principales entidades recicladores, considerando lo siguiente: o El parámetro fundamental para decidir que industrias encuestar por residuo a reciclar, apunto a los productores con mayor impacto en un contexto nacional. Esto se realizó de común acuerdo e indicaciones de las CONAMAS REGIONALES. o La muestra a considero encuestar a 174 entidades de valoración, de las cuales respondieron un total de 20. Obtención de información de residuos reciclados a. Obtención de información a partir de estudios y/o información disponible Para obtener información de la generación de residuos a reciclar en el país, se contacto a instituciones tales como COCHILCO, SOFOFA, CORMA, ENAP, ASIQUIM, ASIPLA Asociación Chilena de la Construcción, entre otras, las cuales cuentan con datos de reciclaje de residuos. b. Obtención de información a partir de encuestas Con la finalidad de levantar información cualitativa y cuantitativa asociada al reciclaje de residuos sólidos industriales y municipales a nivel regional y/o nacional, se realizaron encuestas a las entidades recicladoras más representativas a través de formularios previamente establecidos, mediante visitas, contactos telefónicos y/o correo electrónico. Selección de empresas recicladores de residuos industriales y municipales. El listado debe ser aprobado en función de lo que señaló CONAMA regional.

Recycling has come to be seen as a key strategy for tackling plastic pollution in South Africa, enabled by the rising popularity of circular economy policies globally. This paper explains how recycling operates discursively, positioning waste as an economic opportunity, with the effect of making it plausible to ignore the multi-scaler inequitable dynamics of waste that have been well documented by critical waste scholars. Quantitative and qualitative data was gathered over 13 months as part of the Valuing Plastic Project in Cape Town. Research involved establishing and evaluating a small-scale recycling scheme at Eluvukweni Church in the township of Crossroads on the outskirts of Cape Town. The methodology combined elements of participatory action research and discourse analysis to understand how ideas circulate in a way that perpetuates the status quo. This paper argues that the discursive power of recycling is enabled by concepts of circular economy and waste entrepreneurship, which position waste as a resource that unlocks job opportunities for people in poverty. As a consequence, environmental groups’ resistance to recycling as the solution to plastic pollution in South Africa continues to be constrained by the assumption that plastic waste is valuable, and that the plastic industry is able to regulate itself.

This paper will try to assess the effectiveness of Philippine laws, policies and other related regulation mechanisms in implementing e-waste management. With this, there will be a literature review of the definitions of E-wastes and WEEE, the major producers of E-waste as well as its major recipients, for a better understanding of the topic. Then, the environmental effects of e-waste will be further discussed. Issues and concerns associated with e-waste management, as well as different management approaches (e.g. EPR) implemented by countries with effective practice and policy in e-waste management, as well as the EU WEEE Directive, the multilateral environmental agreement (MEA) (e.g. the Basel Convention) and the status of e-waste management in the Philippines, are discoursed henceforth. Also, the best practice principles of managing E-waste for instance in Japan and the European Union will be evaluated. There will be a comparative analysis of e-waste management practices in the Philippines versus Japan (developed country, leading practice and policy for e-waste management) and India (a developing country with existing e-waste management policy). Later, this paper will recognize the causative influences of international best practice principles that could improve the current policy and other related regulatory mechanisms in the Philippines.

Gruppo di lavoro: Paolo Azzurro, Donato Berardi, Nicolò Valle
Gli schemi di responsabilità estesa del produttore per la filiera degli imballaggi sono chiamati a conformarsi ai requisiti minimi delle direttive del Pacchetto Economia Circolare e agli specifici requisiti della Direttiva sulle plastiche monouso. Le scelte in materia di responsabilità finanziaria dei produttori e diversificazione contributiva giocheranno un ruolo determinante. The extended producer responsibility schemes for the packaging industry are required to comply with the Circular Economy Package directives' minimum requirements and the Single-use Plastics Directive's specific requirements. The choices regarding producers' financial responsibility and fee diversification will play a decisive role.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes are adopted not only to promote collection and recycling of waste products but also to close material loops and incentivise ecodesign. These outcomes are also part of creating a more circular economy. Evaluations of best practices can inform how to further optimise systems towards more ambitious collection, recycling and recovery of both hazardous and critical materials. Gas discharge lamps in particular are a key product category in this regard, considering both the presence of mercury and of rare earth materials in this waste stream. Nordic countries in particular are known for advanced collection and recycling systems and this article compares the EPR systems for gas discharge lamps. The EPR systems for lamps are evaluated using theory-based evaluation approaches to analyse both the performance of lamp EPR systems and challenges perceived by key stakeholders. The cases were constructed based on primary and secondary literature, statistical data, and interviews with stakeholders. The findings indicate that the collection and recycling performance is generally still high for gas discharge lamps in the Nordic countries, despite some differences in approach and structure of the EPR systems, but there remain opportunities for further improvement. In terms of EPR goals, there is evidence of improved waste management of these products as a result of the systems; however, there also remain significant challenges, particularly in terms of ecodesign incentives. The key factors for best practice are discussed, including aspects of the rule base, infrastructure, and operations. The particular characteristics of this waste category, including the rapidly changing technology, also pose challenges for EPR systems in the future.

Gruppo di lavoro: Paolo Azzurro, Donato Berardi, Antonio Pergolizzi, Nicolò Valle
L'Italia si appresta a recepire le nuove direttive Europee del pacchetto sull'Economia Circolare. Gli Stati membri sono chiamati a disciplinare i regimi di reponsabilità del produttore nel rispetto dei requisiti minimi introdotti dalla Direttiva 851/2018. Per gli imballaggi i nuovi criteri dovranno trovare concreta applicazione entro la fine del 2024. Il modo con cui tali criteri saranno recepiti nell'ordinamento nazionale avrà importanti ricadute lungo tutta la filiera, dalla progettazione degli imballaggi alla gestione e all'intercettazione dei rifiuti a fine vita.

Este documento ha encontrado motivación en las presiones internas y externas en el país por adoptar un sistema de manejo de residuos sólidos ecológico. Una revisión de las prácticas más actuales indica que el concepto de responsabilidad extendida del productor es fundamental. La pregunta de cómo adoptar tal concepto se aborda desde una lectura no literal del mismo y más comprensivo de la complejidad política y de las diversas experiencias de implementación. Se sostiene que el sistema colombiano de manejo de residuos sólidos está subsidiado por los consumidores finales, de manera opuesta a lo que se pretende con la responsabilidad extendida del productor. Urge cuantificar y estimar los niveles de responsabilidad de las externalidades de tipo ambiental para comprender sus efectos nocivos.

Environmental and economic evidence is increasingly supporting the need for better analytical tools for evaluating the recovery of consumer products. In response, we present a novel mathematical model for determining what we call the Optimal Recovery Plan (ORP) for any given product. The ORP is based on an evaluation and optimization of the economics of remanufacturing consumer products versus demanufacturing in the context of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation, a driving force behind the adoption remanufacturing initiatives by firms. We provide an illustrative application of the model and then discuss its implications for scholars and practitioners concerned with sustainable business development.

Today, over-consumption, pollution and resource depletion threaten sustainability. Waste management policies frequently fail to reduce consumption, prevent pollution, conserve resources and foster sustainable products. However, waste policies are changing to focus on lifecycle impacts of products from the cradle to the grave by extending the responsibilities of stakeholders to post-consumer management. Product stewardship and extended producer responsibility are two policies in use, with radically different results when compared for one consumer product, refrigerators. North America has enacted product stewardship policies that fail to require producers to take physical or financial responsibility for recycling or for environmentally sound disposal, so that releases of ozone depleting substances routinely occur, which contribute to the expanding the ozone hole. Conversely, Europe's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive requires extended producer responsibili...

Las crisis económicas de Argentina han provocado el aumento de trabajadores informales, muchos de los cuales se dedican al reciclaje urbano. A raíz de la pandemia Covid-19 y la consiguiente  disminución  de  empleo  formal,  cabe  esperar  un  aumento  más  acusado  del  número de trabajadores informales. En principio, el aumento de la actividad de reciclaje es positivo,  dando  lugar  a  un  proceso  de  organización  en  cooperativas  autogestionadas  e  incluso  organizaciones  de  segundo  grado  con  alto  poder  de  incidencia  en  las  políticas  públicas.  No  obstante,  más  allá  de  los  logros  alcanzados  en  los  últimos  años,  todavía  las  condiciones laborales de  la gran mayoría de los recicladores urbanos no responden, por lo general, a la definición de «trabajo decente» de la OIT. Por  lo  tanto,  es  importante  preguntarnos  cómo  se  puede  crear  un  sistema  de  reciclaje  en  Argentina  que  sea  sostenible  en  el  sentido  de  involucrar  simultáneamente  su  dimensión  social,  medioambiental  y  económica.  El  objetivo  de  nuestra  investigación,  basada  en  entrevistas  cualitativas  con  las  partes  interesadas,  es  recoger  y  sintetizar  las  ideas  y  las  expectativas de diversos actores del sector del reciclaje en el área metropolitana de Buenos Aires.  Esto  nos  permitió  identificar  cuatro  ámbitos  principales  de  conflicto,  así  como  de  posible intervención en pos de encontrar soluciones consensuadas. En primer lugar, el trabajo de reciclaje urbano en Argentina funciona como red de protección social, como ocurre en muchos países en los que hay pobreza persistente. Esta situación exige la  búsqueda  de  un  equilibrio  entre  mantener  la  función  social  del  sector  y  compatibilizarlo  con los criterios de eficiencia establecidos en otros sectores. Debido a las asimetrías de poder que hay entre las grandes empresas y los recicladores urbanos individuales, puede haber riesgo de exclusión de estos últimos en caso que la actividad se vuelva un negocio rentable. En segundo lugar, los recicladores urbanos reintroducen materiales en el ciclo de los recursos y  reducen  la  presión  sobre  los  vertederos,  por  lo  que  generan  efectos  externos  positivos.  Independientemente  de  la  posibilidad  de  poner  en  valor  los  materiales  recuperados,  este trabajo merece  ser  retribuido  económicamente  en  términos  de  la  prestación  de  un  servicio  público.  El  hecho  de  garantizar  y  hacer  efectivo  este  reconocimiento,  supondría  un  avance  importante para garantizar ingresos decentes, así como un  amplio reconocimiento social de la  valiosa contribución realizada en forma cotidiana por estos trabajadores. En tercer lugar, el conocimiento y la experiencia de los recicladores urbanos ofrecen un gran potencial para innovar desde la base, por ejemplo, dando un uso productivo a materiales que en la actualidad no se comercializan en el mercado. Con la colaboración de otros actores, como  las  universidades,  y  la  provisión  de  recursos  y  apoyo  mediante  la  eliminación  de  trámites burocráticos, se podría escalar el impacto positivo de estas innovaciones populares. En  cuarto  lugar,  y  como  tema  transversal,  toda  solución  que  pretenda  aprovechar  el  potencial  del  reciclaje  urbano  para  mejorar  la  sostenibilidad  económica,  ecológica  y  social  del sector de residuos exige una atenta exploración de la dimensión económica y política. La pluralidad  de  los  intereses  que  hay  en  juego  produce  incentivos  que,  en  muchos  casos,  no  favorecen la eficiencia económica y bloquean recursos que podrían utilizarse para mejorar los programas  de  reciclaje.  La  reforma  de  estos  incentivos  exige  un  análisis  minucioso  de  los  múltiples órganos de poder y las posibles coaliciones para promover cambios.

Extended Producer Repsonsibility (EPR) policy has been implemented in many developed countries throughout the world for the purpose of recycling and disposal of solid waste. In Malaysia EPR has not been been implemented as full policy yet, but there are some elements in the existing national solid waste management policy that had similarities with EPR policy in general since 1980s. Now, the trend towards implementing the policy is getting stronger with the introduction of Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act (SWPCMA) in 2007 and the 10th Malaysian Plan (10MP) in 2010, which clearly incorporated elements of EPR policy. On top of that currently Malaysian Government had cooperated with Japanese Government to draft a new framework to manage e-waste (electrical and electronic equipment waste), which include the provisions of EPR policy. With this scenario it is very important for the industry, both the manufacturing and the construction industry to consider incorporating Design for Disassembly (DFD) into their processes. DFD is needed to support EPR policy because DFD provides design and technical support, which could contribute to the successful implementation of the policy. Unfortunately even tough EPR policy is expected to be implemented in the near future, majority of the industries involved are still not ready with the skills and knowledge to apply DFD in their processes. This article aims to address this issue and elaborate on how the industries should take into consideration of incorporating DFD into their processes to support the implementation of EPR in the future.

Anthropogenic emissions likely pose serious threat to the stability of our environment; immediate actions are required to change the way the earth’s resources are consumed. Among the many approaches to mitigation of environmental deterioration being considered, the processes for designing, sourcing, producing and distributing products in global markets play a central role. Considerable research effort is being devoted to understanding how organisational initiatives and government policies can be structured to facilitate incorporation of sustainability into design and management of entire supply chain. In this paper, we review the current state of academic research in sustainable supply chain management, and provide a discussion of future direction and research opportunities in this field. We develop an integrative framework summarising the existing literature under four broad categories: (i) strategic considerations; (ii) decisions at functional interfaces; (iii) regulation and government policies; and (iv) integrative models and decision support tools. We aim to provide managers and industry practitioners with a nuanced understanding of issues and trade-offs involved in making decisions related to sustainable supply chain management. We conclude the paper by discussing environmental initiatives in India and the relevance of sustainability discussions in the context of the Indian economy.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation focuses on the life-cycle environmental performance of products and has significant implications for management theory and practice. In this paper, we examine the influence of EPR policy parameters on product design and coordination incentives in a durable product supply chain. We model a manufacturer supplying a remanufacturable product to a customer over multiple periods. The manufacturer invests in two design attributes of the product that impact costs incurred by the supply chain—performance, which affects the environmental impact of the product during use, and remanufacturability, which affects the environmental impact post-use. Consistent with the goals of EPR policies, the manufacturer and the customer are required to share the environmental costs incurred over the product's life cycle. The customer has a continuing need for the services of the product and optimizes between the costs of product replacement and the costs incurred during use. We demonstrate how charges during use and post-use can be used as levers to encourage environmentally favorable product design. We analyze the impact of supply chain coordination on design choices and profit and discuss contracts that can be used to achieve coordination, both under symmetric and asymmetric information about customer attributes.