Does EPR Increase Consumer Costs? Spoiler alert – Not as Much as Critics Say
From August 2022, a Recycling Partnership blog authored by Senior Policy Advisor Michael Washburn. The original post can be read here.
The U.S. recycling system is not one unified entity – it is a network of 9,000 separate local recycling programs. Recycling access, infrastructure and education have been underfunded for far too long, leaving many U.S. residents, more than 40 million, without convenient access to recycling. Better access, infrastructure, and education is required for an effective and efficient system. We need smart, well-designed policy to improve the U.S. residential recycling system, to get it working efficiently, and provide sustainable funding for the system so that it can continue to improve in the future.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation is a policy approach with far-reaching effects, including incentives to make packages sold on store shelves more recyclable, informing Americans about what…