TOMRA, the innovation leader for waste and resource management, offers practical solutions to deal with the ever-growing volume of packaging waste. To mark its 50th anniversary, TOMRA has published its next white paper which highlights Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). This policy principle has the power to accelerate society’s shift towards a more circular economy, where resources are reused repeatedly to maximize their value.
EPR ensures that producers and manufacturers take responsibility for the full lifecycle of their packaging - from design to waste collection and recycling, and final disposal. As producers must provide dedicated funding for their own packagaing, this policy principle also can incentivize sustainable packaging design and management based on the waste hierarchy to achieve greater environmental outcomes. TOMRA’s new white paper, EPR Unpacked - A Policy Framework for a Circular Economy, not only defines and examines EPR schemes for packaging waste, but it also serves as a detailed guide for policymakers who design or develop EPR schemes, offering a multi-faceted perspective and practical insights to help achieve greater performance.
The white paper names and explains the five design principles required for the successful implementation of an EPR scheme. These are: circularity, which prioritizes the waste hierarchy, incentivizes eco-design, and utilizes reliable measurement protocols; performance, which includes a well-defined scope, clear roles and responsibilities, and comprehensive targets that scale up over time; convenience and user-friendly systems that increase the amount of valuable resources that are collected and processed effectively; producer responsibility which establishes clear rules for the management of packaging waste; and finally, system integrity, which ensures transparency and compliance to support the achievement of targets.
