Extended Producer Responsibility Support Service | EPR Service

Nowadays, most products and packaging designed are “disposable” in nature. It often leads to sensitivity to its influence or impact on the health of human beings. If consumers rethink the way they consume and push back the responsibility of the product to the manufacturers, then issues related to controlling waste than generating it can be well-addressed.

To achieve this shift, the extended producer responsibility (EPR) is the policy that places increased emphasis on the product lifecycle and encourages manufacturers to keep in the loop the resources through stewardship of the product.

How does the extended producer responsibility work?

The Extended Producer responsibility is a strategy that identifies and summarizes the environmental costs associated with a consumer product and packaging lifecycle. The concept developed globally relates to financial measures that hold manufacturers liable for waste disposal management.

It translates to manufacturers at the end of product life taking the following actions:

Implementing recycling and taking back programs for products.
Setting up recycling pickups and collection points for products.
Designing new products that are easier to repair, reuse and recycle.

Supporting the EPR as an idea that manufacturers are well placed to design products that are less harmful, toxic, and wasteful products before they become "waste." EPR attempts to move the waste management burden from the consumers back to the manufacturers.

All packaging and products are good candidates for EPR programs and thus implemented in different ways. It includes manufacturers who have put into practice programs made by themselves or rely on the other infrastructures that recycle with the manufacturers' financial aid.

However, its seen that the challenge to EPR is still present. The approach of overreaching to reduce waste at the end of the product lifecycle, whereas the goal should be to reduce waste at the source. EPR focuses on end-of-life waste management rather than designing waste thrown out of the loop at the source.

EPR Support Service

The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), surrounded by global regulations, calls out the Importers and Manufacturers to review and manage the effects of the products on the environment at the end of life or disposal responsibly.

Various regulations, mainly are from the European Union, govern the requirements, such as Packaging Waste Directive and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) packaging, Batteries Directives, etc.

Service providers offer effective Turnkey solutions to anyone who wants to comply with EPR regulations. The industries covered are automotive, Electronics, Packaging, industrial, and lubricants. The EPR support service provided by industry-specific domain experts enables manufacturers to comply as per EPR. From providing the initial strategy development, compliance analysts collect material declarations by suppliers for either complete material declaration or EPR specific regulation declarations.

An EPR support service typically consists of

Assessment of compliance reporting requirements
Collecting Supplier Material Declarations
Comprehensive compliance Management Solution
Data Maintenance and updates
Consulting and Advisory services
Internal and supplier Training
Reporting and Analytics
Conclusion

The EPR is still in its infancy stage with the development of technologies and products to be implemented. The future of EPR lies in its ability to arm lawmakers with tools that reduce environmental impacts.