Demonstrating Innovative Extended Producer Responsibility Solutions for Circular Economy

EU has set an ambitious goal of transitioning products’ value chains from linear to circular while enhancing the competitiveness and sustainable prosperity of EU economy. Here, the focus is on resource-intensive sectors with the highest circularity potential, e.g., construction products, ICT products, furniture, mattresses, carpets. In this transition, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is envisioned as a key policy instrument. While EPR schemes implemented in several countries have appeared as an efficient instrument to foster particularly recycling systems, they have failed to boost the adoption of circularity strategies higher in the waste hierarchy, such as design out of waste, reuse, repair and refurbish. DemoEPR aims to overcome this challenge by taking a truly transdisciplinary approach and bringing together practitioners, e.g. producers, producer organizations and waste managers, consumer organizations and world-class researchers on EPR, business models, digital systems, consumer behaviour, and the assessment of economic, environmental, and social impacts, to co-create solutions for optimal EPR schemes of ICT products. ICT products form the key element of digital transformation and are therefore essential in multiple product value chains but face several circularity challenges. In DemoEPR, the innovation of optimal EPR schemes and enhancement of their uptake is built on several (7) pilots that focus on a digital product tracing system, data security management, technologies to promote reuse and recovery of valuable materials, collection of used products, novel EPR-based circular business models and consumer engagement. The pilots are supported by research that analyses current EPR systems and their surrounding policy and regulatory framework as well as sustainability impacts. The results from the different activities will be merged to generate a roadmap for European EPR.