EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY

EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY

Subject : Environment

Context : The LG stressed the need to provide for a mechanism to effectively implement the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) pertaining to the collection of e-waste and its processing.

Concept :

• Extended Producers Responsibility is essentially the use of financial incentives to encourage manufacturers to design environmentally friendly products by making producers accountable for their product management during end-stage consumption.
• It differs from product stewardship as it relieves the government from the burden of managing certain products by making manufacturers internalize the cost of recycling within the product price.
• EPR is carried out bearing in mind that brand owners have the greatest control over product design and hence are in a better position to design their products in such a manner that it will reduce harmful effects on the environment as a whole.
• Extended Producers Responsibility is done through, reuse, buyback, or recycling. The producer has also the option of delegating this responsibility to a third-party which can be paid by the producer for used-product management.
• This shifts the responsibility for waste management from the government to private industries, making it easy for producers or sellers to internalise waste management and ensure the safe handling of their products.