Designing and operationalising extended producer responsibility under the EU Green Deal

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) as a policy principle has been in practice in different product-country settings for a few decades now, and yet its implementation, as well as the outcomes, have varied. Amid the sustainability crises posed by the take-make-dispose-based linear economy and the transgression of the various planetary boundaries, governments worldwide are increasingly embracing CE-related policies, more so in the EU, with the Green Deal ushering in a wave of legislative transformations. Given this background, there is an urgent need for both policymakers and manufacturers to transition EPR from a mere waste management strategy to what can be termed as an “interface policy”, covering the interdisciplinary areas of circular economy, chemicals and waste law. Drawing upon insights from academic and grey literature, this paper contributes to characterising the system architecture underpinning EPR. It develops a conceptual framework using a life cycle thinking process through which EPR can be analysed, agreed upon, and operationalised. Such a conceptual framework can be helpful in governmental bodies tasked with framing effective EPR policies and for industry stakeholders responsible for take-back system design and implementation.