Design Implications of Extended Producer Responsibility Legislation

Take-back legislation based on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) holds producers responsible for proper end-of-life treatment of their products. In addition to diverting waste products from landfills, EPR legislation has the potential advantage of incentivizing eco-design of products. However, evidence suggests that product design outcomes of EPR legislation can be significantly influenced by its implementation. In this chapter, we survey the research on this topic, focusing on design impacts associated with several key operational considerations in supply chains. We show that intended design incentives under EPR legislation may be weakened, muted, or even negated as a result of operational factors such as design trade-off, market competition, and recycling resource sharing. Accordingly, we develop insights as to how the design potential of EPR legislation may be realized.