Extended Producer Responsibility

*** EPR for Western Australia ***

The Western Australian State Government endorsed a policy on EPR on 27 June 2005.  The adoption of this policy will hopefully allow legislation to be developed which enables EPR schemes to be created for particular waste streams.  To find out more about the progress towards EPR for Western Australia, and to view a copy of the latest Position Paper sent to the Waste Authority in October 2008 click here.

What is EPR?

The OECD defines Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as “an environmental policy approach in which a producer’s responsibility for a product is extended to the post-consumer stage of a product’s life cycle.”  Other interpretations of EPR exist which are somewhat broader and may incorporate responsibility for issues which arise during the consumption phase of the product life cycle.  In general terms EPR refers to involving producers, either physically or financially, in the process of collecting, processing, recycling or disposing of post-consumer waste.

What's good about EPR?

EPR schemes can provide a means of addressing the upstream impacts of products such as the associated consumption of resources, pollution and greenhouse emissions.  EPR schemes can also be used to address the downstream impacts of products such as process interference, financial costs to Councils or the environmental costs of inappropriate disposal.  While little tested in Australia, EPR approaches hold the potential to incorporate a diverse range of previously ignored product impacts into company decision making. 

Do we have EPR in Australia?

In Australia, we have few examples of EPR in its true form.  The Container Deposits System operating in South Australia is perhaps the best example of an Australian EPR scheme.  EPR has been fiercely opposed by a range of industries for which it has been proposed, so it is likely that we have a while to wait before we get true examples of EPR operating in Australia.  On the positive side, there are now several states with existing or proposed legislation enabling state governments to impose EPR schemes on industries which fail to take sufficient responsibility voluntarily. 

Learn More

More on EPR
A detailed description of EPR as a waste policy with definitions and examples.

EPR: A Guide for Governments
A comprehensive reference on EPR designed for government policy makers. 
CAUTION: Large File Size

Canada and EPR
A Canadian Government Resource on EPR.  Includes a list of useful principles.

NSW and EPR
NSW Government website with details on EPR and their legislative framework for EPR policies.