Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is the general term used to describe environmental policies that are designed to hold producers accountable for the entire lifecycle of their products, including waste collection and disposal. These policies are often implemented across the local, national or even regional level.

 

Within the European Union (EU), EPR refers to a collection of different initiatives designed to achieve environmental protection, rather than a singular policy. Different EU initiatives such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive have required individual EU Member States to implement their own national legislation, in accordance with Directive requirements. For example, the EU WEEE Directive led to Germany implementing its own national WEEE registration framework.

 

Numerous other EU Member States are also progressively implementing the EPR Directives by introducing new national EPR legislation, including Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden. Although no longer part of the EU, the UK also began introducing its own legislation while still a member and will continue to set its own EPR policies.