How to successfully implement extended producer responsibility: considerations from an economic point of view

This paper investigates the concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR) from an economic point of view. Particular importance will be placed on the concept of 'economic feasibility' of an EPR policy, which should guide decision-making in this context. Moreover, the importance of the core EPR principle of 'integrating signals throughout the product chain' into the incentive structure will be demonstrated with experiences from Germany. These examples refer to sales packaging consumption, refillable drinks packages and waste electrical and electronic equipment collection. As a general conclusion, the interaction between economic principles and technological development needs to be observed carefully when designing incentive-compatible EPR policies.