What Is EPR? (Extended Producer Responsibility)

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws are a policy approach that shifts the financial and/or physical responsibility for a product’s entire lifecycle, especially its disposal phase, from local governments and taxpayers to the manufacturers, importers, and brand owners who first introduce the products to the market. EPR laws exist to incentivise companies to design more sustainable products and packaging that are easier to reuse, recycle, or dispose of safely. 

EPR for packaging is the most common form of these regulations globally. The European Union has some of the most comprehensive laws, requiring all member states to implement EPR schemes. Countries like Germany and France have well-established programs that require producers to pay fees for the packaging they introduce to the market. In the United States, EPR for packaging is being adopted on a state-by-state basis, with states like Maine, Oregon, and California recently passing landmark legislation. Other countries with significant packaging EPR laws include Canada (at the provincial level), Japan, and South Africa.

Polytag’s primary role in helping companies with their Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) duties is to provide the data necessary for accurate and verifiable compliance. EPR schemes, like the one in the UK, require companies to report on the weight and type of packaging they place on the market, and in some cases, pay fees based on how recyclable that packaging is.

Polytag’s technology, which uses invisible UV tags on packaging, allows brands to track their products throughout the recycling stream. This creates a “digital footprint” for each piece of packaging, providing live, barcode-level data on its journey. This data can include when and where the packaging was collected and recycled. By providing this information, Polytag helps companies improve data accuracy.