Extended Producer Responsibility in the EU: Achievements and Future Prospects

The rationale behind extended producer responsibility (EPR) is to make producers responsible for the environmental impacts of their products from design to the post-consumer phase. EPR was, therefore, expected to stimulate design for the environment (DfE); reduce the amount of waste destined to final disposal, while increasing separate collection and recycling; and internalise the costs of waste collection and management, in accordance with the " polluter pays " principle. After more than 20 years of experience in the EU with EPR, this chapter evaluates whether the environmental objectives associated with the advocacy of the principle have been met. Secondly, it discusses EPR ' s future prospects, by considering how its application can be improved to fully reach both its original objectives and, possibly, more ambitious ones.