If you were to ask extended producer responsibility (EPR) experts from other countries about the lessons they learned that could be applied to EPR programs in the United States, you would receive advice about working well in advance on programs, harmonizing them across jurisdictions, being proactive, and getting involved.
Those were among the points from a June 26, 2024, webinar that was the final session in a five-part series sponsored by AMERIPEN—American Institute for Packaging and the Environment. The overall series, which started earlier this year, was titled “Preparing for Packaging Producer Responsibility in the U.S.”
The panel included experts on EPR and producer responsibility organizations (PROs)—“Lessons Learned from Brands and PROs”—from Europe and Canada who have been monitoring the implementation of EPR programs in California, Colorado, Maine, Oregon, and Minnesota, all of whom have been the first to adopt EPR initiatives in the U.S., with other states expected to follow.
The panel included:
- Nicole Fischer, global head of social impact, engagement, and governance at Kraft Heinz Company, who works with PROs on implementing EPR programs in Canada;
- Ylenia Maitino, group public policy sustainability lead at Ferrero, who works with PROs on implementing EPR programs in Europe; and
- Adrian Vannahme, chief operating officer at Reclay StewardEdge, who spoke about his company’s experiences as a PRO in Europe and Canada.
Stay Connected
Fischer focused on Canada, where she said EPR has been expanding nationwide.
Producers should get involved early through trade associations or by directly connecting with PROs, she said. In Canada, large producers created Circular Materials, a national not-for-profit PRO created and governed by producers to encourage standardized systems.
She and the other panelists stressed that harmonization with programs is critical but difficult to achieve because of the numerous stakeholders and recycling programs. However, the goal should be to have a nationally integrated approach to help eliminate confusion, reduce costs, and improve environmental outcomes.
Observers in the U.S., including the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) and AMERIPEN, have maintained that harmonization will be essential as more states adopt EPR. The state-by-state approach will lead to unnecessary confusion unless there are some national standards, officials with the organizations have said.
A national regulatory framework is important for setting clear rules, Vannahme said.
Other Lessons Learned
Some of Fischer’s other key lessons for PROs are as follows:
- Careful planning and financial controls are essential from the start, especially with ongoing inflationary pressures;
- Municipalities and service providers need to be clear on what is taking place and when or it could add to the costs; and
- Getting feedback from regulators is important in addition to setting up the right regulatory framework.
“Getting the regulation right is imperative,” Fischer said. “If you don’t have the right regulation, the rest of the process can be increasingly challenging.”
She also recommends a single PRO to run an operation because multiple PROs can add layers that increase costs and reduce efficiencies.
“It makes for a much more administratively burdensome and costly system in an already inflated cost environment,” Fischer said about multiple PROs.
“Also, within the multiple environments, we found a high degree of free riders, where there are a lot of unaligned producers in our system—people who have not signed up with the regulator or they have signed up with a regulator but not with a PRO. Therefore, the other producers who have signed up and paid are subsidizing them.”
Maitino, who concentrated her presentation on EPR programs in Europe, said EPR programs there date to 1994, and experience has shown that industry-led PROs have proved to be more effective than government-led systems. Different models adopted in various countries include single PRO systems and ones with multiple PROs, she added.
Maitino agreed with Fischer that a single PRO can make EPR implementation easier and less costly. Single PRO systems also help inform brand owners about what is required.
“At the start of a journey, this could be a preferable way to set up the direction and start moving forward to create the right conditions,” she advised.
Multiple PROs have benefits, Maitino acknowledged. Competition can be good, generally, and companies have a choice of which PRO to join.
“On the other hand, it adds a lot of complexity,” she said.
Vannahme spoke from a PRO perspective and suggested that good systems can include multiple PROs, as long as the programs are run well. Competition can encourage innovations and reduce price pressures.
“There are many different types of PROs,” he said. “If there is one rule that we observed, it is that it doesn’t matter what form they take. They all work if they are run well, and they fail if they are not.”
Broad Involvement
The panelists agreed that it is important for stakeholders and PROs to build strong networks and infrastructure, while also helping consumers stay informed and understand their role.
Circularity can only be achieved, Maitino said, “if every player is involved.”
“Creating constructive dialogue is essential,” she added.
And all materials should be considered, the panelists said.
Maitino said she is encouraged by developments in chemical and advanced recycling that manage flexible packaging and other hard to recycle products.
However, she added, chemical recycling is not widely recognized in Europe.
Being Fair
Vannahme noted that his company does not intend to be a PRO in the U.S. but is doing consulting work on EPR programs being developed here.
“A system needs to be fair,” he said, adding that all companies should participate, regardless of size.
Some best practices for companies would be to engage with a PRO, even if a company is small, and understand how a PRO works.
Companies also need to be precise about compliance, which means not overreporting or underreporting data.
“You would be shocked how many producers do not get this right and they end up paying too much or they end up paying too little in fees and expose themselves to compliance situations,” Vannahme said.
He added that it is best if government involvement is limited to setting targets and enforcement. Producers should be able to build programs and set fees while demonstrating transparency and accountability.
More on Education
Consumer education must be ongoing and accurate, with no greenwashing claims, Vannahme added. Harmonization can help with consumer education because consumers can learn more quickly, the panelists agreed.
In Europe, clear messaging through simple brochures has worked well to help consumers get and stay involved, Maitino said.
Education programs are central to what PROs should be doing, including testing educational programs with consumers and listening to municipalities about what is and isn’t working, Fischer said. How to recycle logos, for example, helps to keep contaminated items from entering the recycling streams.
“If we don’t have consumers putting the right things in the right bins, the system doesn’t work,” she said.
The full conversation can be found on YouTube.
AMERIPEN’s full series for 2024 can be found here.
Thomas A. Barstow is senior editor of FlexPack VOICE®.