Background
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach that incentivises and extends the responsibility of producers (including manufacturers, importers, distributors, brand owners and retailers) to consider the impacts of their product(s) in the post-consumer phase.1 EPR is based on the principle that the polluter should bear the costs of managing and mitigating the environmental impacts of their products. Over the last two decades, this approach has evolved to include considerations of sustainable resource use, manufacturing processes and product design,2 but there is no specific guidance on improving design, life cycle analysis or financing mechanisms. EPR schemes can be either mandatory or voluntary and typically involve various forms of organisational responsibility, establishing take-back or deposit-return systems, as well as financial mechanisms to fund waste management activities.