Why EPR In Circular Economy Is Essentially 'Every Person's Responsibility', And Is Needed To Ensure Sustainable Future

Extended Producer Responsibility or EPR encourages sustainable practices, product design, recycling infrastructure, & community engagement. It is crucial to embrace EPR to achieve a sustainable future

The governments and various NGOs globally are increasingly compelled to enhance their waste management infrastructures by emphasising reuse, recycling, and waste-to-energy conversion due to escalating social and environmental concerns.

Source : Unsplash

By Abhishek Agashe

The worldwide waste management sector, valued at USD 423.4 billion in 2021, is earmarked to reach USD 542.7 billion by 2026, growing at a compound staggering annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.1% from 2022 to 2031. The governments and various organizations globally are increasingly compelled to enhance their waste management infrastructures by emphasising reuse, recycling, and waste-to-energy conversion due to escalating social and environmental concerns.

As per a recent report by Swiss non-profit EA Earth Action, “India is among 12 nations responsible for 60 pc of world's mismanaged plastic waste." With an aim to combat the burgeoning issues of waste management or rather find a way to curtail mismanagement of waste, government bodies were obliged to come out with revision in EPR policies and also ensure companies were strictly being compliant to the policy.

While the term “EPR” defined by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as “Extended Producer Responsibility or (EPR) is a concept in waste management and sustainability 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”, EPR policies actually act as a fine thread which holds the deep ties between waste management and sustainability.  

The Government of India’s forward-thinking policies, like the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) exemplifies the crucial role of policy in shaping a sustainable e-waste ecosystem.

But the fundamental meaning of “EPR” at core could also be abbreviated as “Every Person's Responsibility" as it captures the true essence of how everyone plays a role in achieving a sustainable future, and not only producers or manufacturers. By embracing the idea that waste management is "Every Person's Responsibility," individuals can collectively contribute to building a more sustainable future, where resources are conserved, waste is minimised, and environmental impacts are reduced and thus we can inch one step closer towards powering the circular economy and bolster sustainability efforts.

EPR is also seen as one of the most effective strategies in waste management & sustainability efforts as it aids with the following: -

• Incorporating financial incentives to encourage producers to adopt more sustainable practices
• Designing products with the end in mind, considering how they can be reused, recycled, or safely disposed of when their useful life ends. This can lead to products that are more easily recyclable or compostable, reducing their environmental impact
• Aids in creating or improving recycling infrastructure as producers are aligned to work towards investing more in recycling facilities or collection programs to ensure that their products are properly recycled or disposed of, reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills or incinerators
• EPR implementation also fosters community engagement, encouraging individuals to participate in local waste reduction initiatives, such as community clean-up events, composting programs, or neighborhood recycling drives

All these perks of EPR eventually lead towards boosting individuals and companies to innovate and develop solutions for an improved sustainable consumption with improved waste management practices exercised and creating a more sustainable living ecosystem whilst powering circularity.

The author is the co-founder & CEO at Elima.

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