Extended Producer Responsibility should be in your 2022 business strategy, here’s why

Extended Producer Responsibility has been rolled out in multiple countries across Europe in recent years, countries such as France and Germany have highly detailed and enforced regulations that affect brick and mortar stores, and long-distance sellers who ship products into the country through platforms such as websites and Amazon, eBay, and Etsy.

By including EPR in your business strategy, you can avoid penalties, and even reap the rewards offered by respective governments for those who actively participate and contribute to the EPR schemes in place.

As an example, France offers multiple financial incentives through a reduction in fees for companies that exceed the minimum requirements.
Businesses that use paper/cardboard packaging that is 50% recyclable material become eligible for a 10% reduction in fees.

The financial incentives can also result in an increase of fees, for companies that refuse to scrap the non-recyclable materials, such as the use of non-recyclable materials in packaging e.g., Ceramics will result in a 100% increase in fees.

By preparing your business to exceed these targets, you will be reducing the mandatory cost set by regulating bodies in the respective country of abiding by EPR on your business, in addition, if your business is currently using materials that are 100% non-recyclable, you could be facing an increase in fees.

Being prepared also has the added benefit of futureproofing.
As the world begins to become more and more environmentally conscious, it is almost certain that countries will introduce further EPR requirements. In 2018 the UK produced approximately 12,000 tonnes of packaging waste of this packaging, 62.1% was recycled, and the rest was disposed of through methods such as incineration or dumped in landfills.

The UK is a perfect example of a country that already enforces regulations akin to EPR and is currently drafting a bill to be introduced in 2023/2024, that will further refine the EPR restrictions and push businesses to begin taking more responsibility for the packaging waste produced by their products.

Are you unsure about how EPR will impact your business?
EPR is a complicated and varied system that whilst beneficial for the environment and wellbeing of our planet, understanding exactly how the regulations will affect your business is difficult and can result in higher fees if misunderstood.

If you would like more information, get in touch with us today! We specialise in preparing companies for EPR regulations in various countries across Europe.