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Title: | EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY: THE ROLE IN WASTE RECOVERY | Authors: | TEOH JIN BEE SERENE | Keywords: | MEM 2019/2020 EnvM Caroline Jane Johnson M.Sc. (Environmental Management) |
Issue Date: | 5-Jan-2021 | Citation: | TEOH JIN BEE SERENE (2021-01-05). EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY: THE ROLE IN WASTE RECOVERY. ScholarBank@NUS Repository. | Abstract: | Background: As people around the world become more aware of the environmental impacts caused by human activities, more actions have been initiated to address such issues. One such policy approach is the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), a concept established by Thomas Lindhqvist and Karl Lidgren in 1990 to address such issues. With the introduction of EPR, it is aimed to reduce the total quantity of waste generated and increase recycling rate of waste materials. Objective: Focusing on Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) and packaging waste, a total of ten case studies from Japan, the United States (USA) and the European Union (EU) are selected for analysis using economic, social and physical factors. Through the analysis, success and challenges will be identified, allowing an EPR implantation framework for Singapore to be proposed. Results: Packaging waste and WEEE EPR policies are implemented in different manners in the ten case studies, resulting in varying degree of success. While all of case studies have shown improvement through the years for recovery and end-of-life treatment, good governmental regulation, accountability of products and increasing education of the importance on recycling are found to be the key strategies for successful implementation. Ranging from producers to Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) to consumers, the co-operation and understanding is crucial for the success of the policy, with penalty enforced for any party that does not comply. The proposal for Singapore’s EPR framework is derived using the three factors; economic, physical and social aspect. Unique to the country, strategies such as strict enforcement by the government, monitoring of material flow and increasing awareness are highlighted as learning points from the case studies. Conclusion: Implementation of EPR policies has mandated and incentivized producers to extend lifespan of products, with the shift of recovery and end-of-treatment transferred from municipalities to the producers. This has resulted in technological advancement in recyclability and environmentally friendly modification of products and packaging, reducing the total amount of waste generated. Through the analysis, the proposed framework for Singapore aims to encompass the learning points and benefits as packaging waste and WEEE EPR policies are implemented in the country. | URI: | https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/223032 |
Appears in Collections: | Master's Theses (Restricted) |
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