What is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)?
According to the OECD definition, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy in which the producer’s responsibility for a product is extended to the post-consumer stage of that product’s life cycle.
EPR policy:
(1) Shifts responsibility (physical and/or financial, in whole or in part) to the producer.
(2) Includes providing incentives for producers to take environmental impacts into account when designing their products.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems are institutional mechanisms established for the prevention and management of waste related to specific products and are based on the «polluter pays» principle.
What is the EPR Model for Packaging Waste?
The EPR model for packaging waste has been successfully implemented since the 1990s, particularly in Europe and in other parts of the world.
Under the EPR model, companies that place packaged products on the market are physically and/or financially responsible for the reduction, collection and recycling of the waste generated after these products are consumed. This model encourages producers to take environmental impacts into account in product design. The financial contributions of producers are not transferred to the state budget in the form of taxes, but are directed to waste management directly through Extended Producer Responsibility Organizations.
The Importance of EPR in the Circular Economy
“Circular Economy” has brought the principles of “sustainable production”, “sustainable consumption” and “upcycling” to the forefront and made EPR even more important. Sustainable production covering the eco-design of packaging, sustainable consumption, where consumers become aware and separate packaging waste at source, and “upcycling”, whereby this waste is collected separately at source and recycled into new packaging that has similar characteristics to the original packaging in terms of quality and environmental impact, can only be successfully coordinated by Extended Producer Responsibility Organizations.
What are the 10 Golden Rules of EPR?
The “10 Golden Rules of the EPR model” defined by EXPRA, the Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance of which ÇEVKO Foundation is also a member, are as follows:
• EPR covers the entire life cycle of the product.
• EPR systems are managed by the obligated industry.
• EPR systems are non-profit structures.
• Those who collect and recycle waste do not take an active role within EPR organizations.
• A strong legal framework must be enforced by public authorities.
• Successful EPR is based on cooperation between the public and private sectors.
• Equal conditions in services and fair competition must be ensured.
• Obligated companies are treated equally and share the costs.
• Industry-owned EPR organizations have a public service mission.
• EPR organizations support the environmental performance of producers.
What are ÇEVKO Foundation’s EPR Activities?
In Turkey, between 2005 and 2020, ÇEVKO Foundation, as an Extended Producer Responsibility Organization and an authorized body, implemented the EPR model in the management of packaging waste.
Between 2005 and 2020, ÇEVKO:
• Assumed responsibility for more than 4,000 companies placing products on the market.
• Documented the recycling of 7.5 million tonnes of packaging waste.
• Increased the number of provinces where it supported the collection of packaging waste to 29, reaching a population of 31.5 million people.
• Increased the number of municipalities it cooperated with across Turkey to 162, and the number of licensed packaging waste collection–separation companies to 72.
• Distributed more than 51,000 outdoor packaging waste containers, more than 1,100,000 indoor containers and more than 54 million packaging waste collection bags in the provinces it supported.
• Prepared 19 public service announcements to raise public awareness.
• Ensured that the number of primary school students who received education on the environment and packaging waste exceeded 1 million.
• According to 2021 figures, its contribution to the economy reached 56 billion TRY.
Thanks to the packaging waste whose recycling ÇEVKO helped facilitate between 2015 and 2020, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions avoided was calculated as 2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
