Unclassified ENV/EPOC/WPRPW(2015)16/FINAL Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Économiques Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 12-Apr-2016 ___________________________________________________________________________________________ English - Or. English ENVIRONMENT DIRECTORATE ENVIRONMENT POLICY COMMITTEE Unclassified ENV/EPOC/WPRPW(2015)16/FINAL Working Party on Resource Productivity and Waste EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY - UPDATED GUIDANCE English JT03393877 Complete document available on OLIS in its original format - Or. English This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. ENV/EPOC/WPRPW(2015)16/FINAL NOTE BY THE SECRETARIAT This report presents the draft publication "Extended Producer Responsibility - Updated Guidance" that integrates five papers developed and discussed during the 5th and 6th WPRPW meetings and that have been revised according to the comments that were received from WPRPW and EPOC. Chapter 1 provides an introduction and compiles updated guidance and recommendations on EPRs. It was previously discussed as [ENV/EPOC/WPRPW(2015)6]. This chapter constitutes Part A of the Guidance. The remaining chapters constitute Part B, and provide more in-depth analyses of a number of key elements of EPR schemes that underlie the updated guidance. Chapter 2 discusses EPR and governance, previously [ENV/EPOC/WPRPW(2015)3], chapter 3 discusses EPR and competition, previously [ENV/EPOC/WPRPW(2015)4], chapter 4 focuses on EPR and design for environment [ENV/EPOC/WPRPW(2014)6/FINAL], and chapter 5 on EPR and the informal sector [ENV/EPOC/WPRPW(2015)5]. The annex of the document provides summary versions of country case studies that were provided by member countries as an input to the Global Forum on Environment focusing on Extended Producer Responsibility that took place in June 2014 in Tokyo. 2 ENV/EPOC/WPRPW(2015)16/FINAL TABLE OF CONTENTS NOTE BY THE SECRETARIAT ........................................................................................................................... 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................................... 9 LIST OF ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................................................... 10 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 11 PART A, CHAPTER 1. UPDATED GUIDANCE ON EPR – INTRODUCTION ............................................. 15 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 15 1.2 EPR policy rationale and instruments .......................................................................................................... 16 1.2.1 Definition and policy rationale ............................................................................................................ 16 1.2.2 Policy instruments ............................................................................................................................... 16 1.3 Main trends and achievements of EPRs ....................................................................................................... 18 1.3.1 Main trends .......................................................................................................................................... 18 1.3.2 Impacts of EPR schemes ..................................................................................................................... 25 1.4 Towards more efficient and effective EPR systems .................................................................................... 29 1.4.1 Key factors in designing EPRs ............................................................................................................ 32 1.4.2 Governance of EPRs............................................................................................................................ 33 1.4.3 Financing, free-riding and orphan products ........................................................................................ 35 1.4.4 Trade, competition and EPRs .............................................................................................................. 38 1.4.5 Eco-design ........................................................................................................................................... 42 1.4.6 EPR systems in emerging and developing economies: the role of the informal sector ....................... 44 1.5 Concluding remarks ..................................................................................................................................... 48 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................................... 50 PART B, CHAPTER 2. THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY: A DISCUSSION OF SELECTED GOVERNANCE ISSUES ............................................ 51 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 51 2.1.1 Why is government involved in EPR systems? ................................................................................... 52 2.1.2 Voluntary approaches to EPR ............................................................................................................. 53 2.1.3 EPR and market failure ....................................................................................................................... 54 2.1.4 EPR when some products have value .................................................................................................. 55 2.2 Governance structures in EPR .................................................................................................................... 57 2.2.1 Single-PRO systems ............................................................................................................................ 58 2.2.2 Competing PRO systems ..................................................................................................................... 59 2.2.3 Tradable credit systems ....................................................................................................................... 60 2.2.4 Government-run EPR systems ............................................................................................................ 62 2.2.5 The role and legal status of producer responsibility organisations ...................................................... 64 2.3 Key governance functions in EPR Systems ................................................................................................. 66 2.3.1 Policy formulation and evaluation ....................................................................................................... 66 2.3.2 Operations ........................................................................................................................................... 67 2.3.3 Stakeholder consultation ..................................................................................................................... 68 3 ENV/EPOC/WPRPW(2015)16/FINAL 2.3.4 Registration and accreditation ............................................................................................................. 68 2.3.5 Collection and disbursement of fees .................................................................................................... 70 2.3.6 Coordination through clearinghouses .................................................................................................. 71 2.3.7 Monitoring ........................................................................................................................................... 73 2.3.8 Enforcement ........................................................................................................................................ 76 2.4 Governance structures and allocation of tasks in EPR systems ................................................................... 78 2.4.1 Patterns in the allocation of functions ................................................................................................. 78 2.4.2 Advantages and disadvantages of governance structures .................................................................... 83 2.5 Government resources ................................................................................................................................. 85 2.5.1 Authority ............................................................................................................................................. 85 2.5.2 Staff ..................................................................................................................................................... 85 2.5.3 Funds ................................................................................................................................................... 85 2.5.4 Delegation and outsourcing ................................................................................................................