Found this article that shows the debate of companies wanting voluntary EPR vs. mandatory EPR. Currently in California, there are talks about creating a mandatory EPR system on packaging. This stems from recycle officials running out of ideas to incentivize manufacturers to do EPR in a way that achieves their goals. However, on the manufacturer side, many believe EPR is not financially sustainable and are pushing against it.
It seems to me that EPR would only be really effective if it is mandatory. However, I wonder if this would force companies out of business, especially SMEs who lack the resources. The long term benefits of EPR are obvious, but it doesn't seem to be taking off quite well at least in this case.
What do you guys think?
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2016/09/15/calrecycle-pushes-extended-producer-responsibility-to-reduce-packaging-waste/
I personally think voluntary EPR is unlikely to grow in scale, mainly because of the extra cost to deal with the packaging. Mandatory EPR will be the only solution to do it. In terms of execution, I still prefer the idea that I mentioned in the class last week: the government can support a central recycle service company to collect the packaging for companies collectively, and companies in turn pay for the operating cost for the company for the service. This will drive a economy of scale and significantly reduce the cost that companies have to bear if they were to do it by themselves.
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