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Extended Producer Responsibility

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Title: Extended Producer Responsibility


1
  • Extended Producer Responsibility
  • The New Frontier
  • presented to
  • Rubber Recycling 2004

2
EPR Definition
  • OECD defines EPR as an environmental policy
    approach in which a producers responsibility for
    a product is extended to the post-consumer stage
    of a products life cycle.

3
EPR Policy Goals (OECD)
  • Shifting of responsibility upstream toward the
    producer and away from municipalities
  • Provide incentives to producers to incorporate
    environmental considerations in the design of
    their products

4
EPR Philosophy
  • Cost of managing consumer waste is traditionally
    borne by society as a whole (general taxpayer)
  • Represents an environmental externality
  • Not reflected in product price
  • Ideally, product price should include full
    life-cycle costs
  • Sends more accurate price signal to consumer

5
EPR Philosophy in Design
  • Important to always keep fundamental philosophy
    in mind when designing EPR programs
  • Danger in being too pragmatic when making design
    decisions
  • Design choices focused on efficiency or
    simplicity can undermine program support

6
Design Criteria Checklist
  • Financially sustainable
  • Level playing field
  • No cross-subsidization
  • Separation of products/ materials
  • Environmentally sound
  • DfE, 3Rs hierarchy
  • Socially responsible
  • Performance driven
  • Transparent, inclusive

7
Design Challenges
  • Financially sustainable
  • Difficult to accurately predict funds required to
    deliver program
  • Presents challenge in ADF schemes
  • ADF must be adjustable
  • ADF based on budget, not other way around
  • Most elegant in producer-pay programs
  • Bill or payment at the end of the year
  • Desire of industry to share costs
  • Confusion over respective roles in shared
    responsibility
  • Sharing cost leads to distortion of price signal
  • Fear of escalating cost if industry does not
    control infrastructure

8
Design Challenges
  • Level playing field
  • Issue in voluntary programs
  • Effectively managed through backdrop legislation
  • Increasingly, industry requesting legislation as
    pre-requisite to EPR
  • Harmonization related issue
  • More a priority for industry than government
  • Must be driven by industry
  • Cant succeed as lowest common denominator

9
Design Challenges
  • No cross-subsidization between products /
    materials
  • Cost-effectiveness can conflict with product
    separation
  • Producers can work together on common collection/
    processing systems to produce efficiencies while
    maintaining product independence
  • Composition surveys
  • Material handling research

10
Design Challenges
  • Environmentally sound
  • Ideally, EPR should encourage Design for
    Environment
  • Flow-through fees download cost onto consumer
  • ADFs must vary by product/ material
  • PROs practical and effective management
    organizations, but remove competition
  • 3Rs hierarchy
  • Programs should encourage environmentally-preferab
    le management options
  • In absence of definitive research, hierarchy
    assumed valid
  • Environmental conscience on PRO

11
Design Challenges
  • Socially responsible
  • Community issues and local economy should be
    considered
  • Cost factors may conflict with social issues
  • Political involvement and monitoring important to
    EPR management

12
Design Challenges
  • Performance driven
  • EPR programs with goals or mandates set by or
    negotiated with government produce better results
  • Reporting requirements
  • transparent, verifiable
  • Performance standards must apply to voluntary as
    well as mandated programs
  • Voluntary programs cannot be avoidance mechanisms
  • Consequences for non-performance

13
Design Challenges
  • Transparent, inclusive
  • Composition of PRO
  • Multi-stakeholder
  • Include ENGO and public seats
  • Arms-length from government
  • Seems to be important to public
  • Counters impression of fees being taxes
  • Communications with stakeholders and public
  • Responsive to issues

14
Challenges for the Future
  • Whats Next?
  • Expanded materials
  • Multi-material PROs
  • Design for Environment
  • Harmonization

15
Contact
  • Recycling Council of AlbertaChristina Seidel,
    Executive DirectorBox 23Bluffton, AB T0C
    0M0phone 403.843.6563fax 403.843.4156info_at_re
    cycle.ab.cawww.recycle.ab.ca
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