Producer responsibility is a policy approach where producers are assigned responsibility for the entire life cycle of a product, especially for the take-back, recycling and final disposal of a product. This approach provides incentives for producers to incorporate environmental considerations into the design of their products. For plastic products, several countries and jurisdictions have implemented producer responsibility laws and programs.

One significant example is the European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive which was instituted in 1994 and updated in 2018. It establishes minimum requirements for plastic packaging waste management and recycling across all EU member states. It requires producers of plastic packaging to contribute financially to waste management systems through fees paid to compliance schemes. Packaging producers must minimize the volume and impact of plastic packaging waste, set up systems to take back packaging waste from consumers free of charge, and meet minimum recycling and recovery rates that will increase over time. The directive has led to substantial increases in plastic waste collected and recycled in EU countries over the past few decades.

In Canada, programs for plastic packaging and printed paper have been implemented under the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment framework since 1993. In Ontario, the industry-led Multi-Material Stewardship Western program requires producers, brand owners and first importers of plastic packaging to register and pay fees that fund Blue Box recycling collection from households. Minimum recycling targets are set by the government which have gradually increased to 70% by 2025. The fees paid by the companies to manage end-of-life products incentivize them to use less material in their packaging designs.

Another notable initiative is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws passed in several US states for plastic bags, packaging and polystyrene food containers (commonly called Styrofoam). For example, in California the Plastic Bag Ban and Plastic food containers law (Senate Bill 270) required stores to provide reusable or compostable checkout bags to customers for a fee as of July 2015. This has significantly reduced single-use plastic bag consumption in California. Stores must provide an at-store dropoff program to recover plastic food containers, plastic bags and plastic films for recycling. Stores also pay annual administration fees to the state agency overseeing the program. Similar EPR laws have passed in Washington, Oregon, Hawaii and Maine among other US states.

Many countries in Asia have also passed producer responsibility regulations for plastic waste such as South Korea’s Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources and China’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Control of Regulation. In South Korea, producers must meet recycling targets and are required to report on their plastic products placed on the market. They also have to join a recycling fund managed by local authorities to pay for collection and sorting of plastic waste. Under China’s new regulation passed in 2020, producers are responsible for setting up recycling systems and are accountable for abandoned plastic waste on land and in waterways. The regulation also bans certain single-use plastics in major cities.

A few industry-led initiatives complement the mandatory policy approaches. For example, PRO Canada operates voluntary take-back programs for flexible plastic packaging and plastic bags in multiple provinces funded by industrial fees. Operation Clean Sweep, a global program led by the plastics industry, aims to eliminate plastic pellet, flake and powder loss from production, storage and transport facilities to stop this pollution from entering waterways and oceans.

Producer responsibility regulations help shift the burden and costs of plastic waste management upstream to producers rather than downstream to municipalities. By requiring producers to finance the end-of-life management and adopting minimum recycled content standards, it encourages design of plastic products and packaging for recyclability and reuse. These policies have collectively led to increased recovery and recycling of plastic waste globally as part of the transition towards more circular plastics economy. While challenges remain in improving plastics recycling infrastructure and rates, mandating producer responsibility has proven effective in many jurisdictions at reducing plastic pollution and waste. As more countries adopt versions of EPR laws for plastic products, it stands to significantly curb plastic leakage into the environment over the long run.