The NGO Zero Waste Europe has called on the EU to optimise the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system, in a study published on Monday 14 April that analyses 30 years of implementation of this tool launched in the 1990s.
The success of EPR is mixed, according to Zero Waste Europe. While this has enabled resources to be mobilised for waste collection and the development of recycling infrastructures, the cost of waste collection and treatment remains insufficiently covered, according to local authorities, who are in disagreement with producers. Collection rates which vary significantly (95% for tyres and less than 50% for batteries) also show that the results are not necessarily there.
Above all, the NGO found that “waste generation in covered sectors has increased rather than decreased”. EPR is a paradox for Zero Waste Europe: “By focusing solely on the management of waste without tackling its production”, EPR today represents a brake on circular models.
To remedy this, the scheme needs to evolve from a waste management tool to a lever for the circular economy, by funding waste prevention, reuse and repair, in particular through targets for reducing the use of materials and resources.
Zero Waste Europe is also proposing to harmonise EPR at European level, so that companies do not have to “manage 27 different sets of regulations”. The creation of a dedicated European body would make it possible to centralise and “reduce the administrative burden”.
To see the study: https://aeur.eu/f/gfi (Original version in French by Florent Servia)