09 Feb 2023 --- UK packagers have been obliged to collect data on their product origin, weight, trade and other parameters since the start of the year. This is the government’s first step to implementing a comprehensive extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme by 2025. However, industry experts are conflicted over the plans, which differ fundamentally from EPR designs in other countries. PackagingInsights speaks to consultants at Ecoveritas and Ecosurety, as well as Thomas Lindquist – the man who originally conceptualized EPR in 1990. Each of these experts believes EPR has in many ways failed but is positive about the concept’s future as a policy tool for improving environmental sustainability and holding businesses to account for their role in pollution.
