This thesis consists of three essays that contribute to the understanding of the economic implications of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for certain durable (e.g. electronics) and consumable (e.g. pharmaceuticals) products from an operational perspective. In the first essay, we investigate the effect of EPR-based policy on a durable good producer’s secondary market strategy. Our analysis uncovers possible strategic approach of durable good producers to EPR obligations, which may result in unintended outcomes. We provide insights into how to set EPR obligations to avoid these adverse outcomes. In the second essay, we examine the operational details of market-based EPR implementation on the ground. We analyze whether the advocated premises of the marked-based approach hold by focusing on the Minnesota Electronics Recycling Act. Based on evaluation reports and stakeholder interviews, we find that the Minnesota Act achieves the premises of the market-based approach, but this occurs at the expense of several unintended outcomes, following unforeseen market dynamics and associated stakeholder interactions. In the third essay, we explore how the EPR-based policies can be effectively operationalized for managing pharmaceutical overage by analyzing the interactions between major stakeholders and moderating factors for these interactions. We demonstrate that the preferred policy depends on the healthcare and externality characteristics of the medicine together with collection-related requirements. Additionally, we investigate the perspectives of pharmaceutical stakeholders on the policy choice and identify the influential factors in this context.

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Thesis advisor: Michael Cermak / Electronic waste (e-waste) is being generated faster than ever, threatening the health of people at home and abroad. This paper advocates for improvements in e-waste management that increase environmental protection in innovative ways that also benefit workers. It reviews what is being done around the world in response to the problem and then introduces suggestions on how public and private actors can cooperate to achieve better results, particularly within the United States. The paper begins by examining the successes and failures of extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations in Europe, the United States, China, and Japan. It then goes on to advocate for a system combining EPR with a refundable deposit to encourage consumer-driven increases in return rates. If people could receive five to ten dollars for recycling their old cell phone or laptop, far fewer would end up in landfills. The paper culminates with an examination of how the idea of “green-collar jobs” can apply to ewaste management. It examines non-college training programs to prepare people to work in this industry and bring them out of poverty. Several reports have discussed the e-waste issue and its policy implications but this will be the first that brings in the labor aspect. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: International Studies Honors Program. / Discipline: International Studies.

This dissertation examines the relationship among practices and policies of waste/ing and economic structures to make visible the implications of vehicle disposal policies for environmental policy and theory. Consequently, I attempt to build upon the small body of literature that is now critically engaging with waste production and resulting actions/inaction in the form of policies of management. In doing this I use waste as a lens to examine the interrelationships among environmental degradation and economic and political structures. Further, I examine these phenomena in relation to a physical object, the automobile, to add materiality to abstract notions of waste as it relates to both the political and the economic. Through vehicle recycling policies, I analyze how underlying economic structures in contemporary capitalism result in specific responses to the "problems" of waste as well as how the related responses, or "solutions" perpetuate an un-ecological industrial system which severely restricts the possibilities of making substantial change in the production of environmental harms. / Ph. D.

Övergången från en linjär till en cirkulär affärsmodell inom textilindustrin är av yttersta vikt för att göra branschen mer hållbar. År 2023 initierade EU-kommissionen därför ett förslag om att tillämpa Extended Producer Responsibility även på textilindustrin. Förslaget innebär att företaget som tillverkar de textila produkterna enligt lag ska vara ansvarigt för vad som händer med produkterna efter att de lämnat företaget. Flera företag har därför initierat en take-backstrategi och med denna en resell-plattform, med målet att förlänga livslängden på produkterna. Som en del av denna övergång finns också ett förslag om att implementera ett digitalt produktpass. Produktpasset är tänkt att fungera som en informationsbärare och möjliggöra för kunden att fatta ett välgrundat beslut och förhoppningsvis ett mer hållbart val. Förhoppningen är också att detta ska pressa företagen att bli mer transparenta och skapa en mer hållbar försörjningskedja. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka svenska modeföretags syn på en resell-plattform, vilka möjligheter och utmaningar de ser i denna samt vilka effekter det digitala produktpasset kan ha på resell-processen. Representanter från fem svenska klädföretag med fokus på olika produktkategorier har intervjuats angående resell-plattformarna och deras tankar kring det digitala produktpasset. Studien visar att utmaningar relaterade till resell-plattformen är kopplade till såväl lönsamhet som resurskrav gällande personal, kunskap och digitalisering. Den visar också att företagen är mycket beroende av kunden för att få en framgångsrik resell-plattform. Samtidigt skapar plattformen möjligheter för företagen att utveckla starkare relationer med kunderna samt skapa nya relationer med nya kundgrupper. Företagen upplever också att varumärket stärks genom att företaget tar mer ansvar och utvecklar sitt hållbarhetsarbete ytterligare. Vidare finner studien att det finns en generell osäkerhet kring de digitala produktpassen kopplat till utformning och praktisk användning och hur de kommer att påverka företagen, samt resell-plattformarna. Det finns också en allmän försiktighet där inget företag känner behov av att vara först ut med ett produktpass. Samtliga företag ställer sig dock positiva till produktpasset på branschnivå och vilka positiva effekter det kan ha på till exempel produktens livscykel och värdet på resell-produkter. Uppsatsen är skriven på svenska. / The transition from a linear to a circular business model in the textile industry is of utmost importance in order to make the industry more sustainable. In 2023 the European Commission therefore initiated a proposal to apply the Extended Producer Responsibility on the textile industry as well. This would mean that the companies producing the textile products are responsible, by law, for what happens with the products after they leave the company´s hands. Several companies have therefore initiated a Take Back Strategy and with this a resell platform, with the goal to prolong the life of the textile products. As a part of this transition there is also a suggestion from the EU to implement the Digital Product Passport. The passport is supposed to act as an information carrier and enabler for the customer to make an informed decision and hopefully a more sustainable choice. The hope is that this will pressure the companies to be more transparent and create a more sustainable supply chain. This study aims to investigate Swedish fashion companies ´ view on their resell-platform, what possibilities and challenges they see in this, and what possible effects the Digital Product Passport could have on the resell process. Representatives from four Swedish companies focused on different product categories have been interviewed regarding the resell platforms and their thoughts on the Digital Product Passport. The study finds that challenges related to the resell platform are connected to profitability as well as resource demanding in terms of personnel, knowledge, and digitalization. It also shows that the companies are very dependent on the customer in order to have a successful resell-platform. At the same time, the platform creates opportunities for the companies to develop stronger relationships with the customers as well as creating new relationships with new customer groups. The companies also find that the brand is strengthened by taking more responsibility and developing their sustainability work further. Further, the study finds that there is an insecurity regarding the Digital Product Passports and how they will affect the companies, and there is a general caution where no company feels the need to be the first one with a passport. However, all companies are positive about the passport and what positive effects it can have on e.g. the product life cycle and the value on resell products. This essay is written in Swedish.

Development of stewardship programs for management of end-of-life mattresses (ELM) is a global challenge for governments. Metro Vancouver is the first Canadian regional government to ban mattresses at local landfills. The next step is for manufacturers and retailers to work with local governments in developing stewardship programs that successfully divert and recycle mattresses across British Columbia (BC). This thesis examines how mattress industry stakeholders in BC could effectively implement province wide mattress stewardship policy that will ensure maximum public participation and will be environmentally sound as well as cost effective. Research was conducted by way of a literature review, a case study approach of Metro Vancouver's mattress recycling bylaw and model, and exploratory interviews with BC stewardship program leaders, Sleep Country Canada, government waste management planners, and mattress recyclers.

abstract: Currently, consumers throw away products every day, turning those materials into waste. Electronic waste poses special problems when it is not recycled because it may contain toxic components that can leach into landfill surroundings and reach groundwater sources or contaminate soil, and its plastic, metal, and electronic materials do not biodegrade and are lost rather than recycled. This study analyzes a system that attempts to solve the electronic post-consumer-waste problem by shifting the economic burden of disposal from local municipalities to producers, reducing its environmental impacts while promoting economic development. The system was created in British Columbia, Canada after the province enacted a recycling regulation based on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), a policy strategy that is fast growing globally. The BC recycling regulation requires all e-toy corporations in BC to comply with a government-approved product-stewardship program to recover and dispose of e-toys after they have been discarded by consumers. In response to the regulation, e-toy corporations joined a Canadian non-profit entity that recycles regulated waste. I conducted a case study using in-depth interviews with the stakeholders to identify the outcomes of this program and its potential for replication in other industries. I derived lessons from which corporations can learn to implement stewardship programs based on EPR regulations. The e-toy program demonstrated that creating exclusive programs is neither efficient nor economically feasible. Corporations should expect low recycling rates in the first phases of the program implementation because EPR regulations are long-term strategies. In order to reach any conclusions about the demand of consumers for recycling programs, we need to measure the program's return rates during at least three years. I also derived lessons that apply to the expansion of EPR regulations to a broader scope of product categories. The optimal way to expand EPR policy is to do it by gradually adding new product categories to the regulation on a long-term schedule. By doing so, new categories can take advantage of existing stewardship programs and their infrastructure to recover and recycle the post-consumer products. EPR proved to be an effective option to make corporations start thinking about the end of life of their products. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Sustainability 2014

The objective of our thesis was to conduct a pilot study to evaluate if an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles in the EU could be a socioeconomically beneficial policy to complement the EU Waste Framework Directive’s amendment of separately collected textiles. The aim was to investigate if the policy could achieve increased circular design of textiles as well as if it could work as a management plan for the increased collection rates. The evaluation was made with a Cost-Benefit Analysis, using the French EPR-system for textiles as a base. It was further complemented with previously conducted research of EPR-systems for other waste streams in the EU, as well as by previously conducted investigations for other national implementations of producer responsibilities for textiles. In additional support, we used data for differences between the member states in the European Union and conducted an expert interview. The EPR was compared to a situation where the municipalities in the member states would instead be responsible for the separate collection of textiles. The result of our investigation illustrates how both alternatives generate a net-loss, the Municipal Responsibility with - €7,611,410,291 and the Extended Producer Responsibility with - €6,012,109,341 during the first year of implementation. The EPR alternative generates a lower net-loss during the first three years of implementation. The producer responsibility is however the less beneficial alternative four years after implementation, since the decreased opportunity cost of labour generated through the hiring of unemployed assumed under the producer responsibility is deducted. The producer responsibility does however generate benefits through clearly defined responsibility of the textiles placed on the European market and gives incentives for increased fibre-to-fibre recycling and for increased durability of textiles. The initiative therefore generates both higher quantifiable-and non-quantifiable, environmental benefits than the alternative. We conclude that an Extended Producer Responsibility should be further examined as a complement to the regulation of separate collection of textiles, to reach an increased circular textile industry.

Ontarians are producing more waste per capita than previous generations and consuming more bottled water. Using the product policy quadrangle developed by Oosternhuis (1996), the research examines four components of Ontario bottled water packaging policy— policy objectives, policy instruments, product groups and actors. Interviews with Ontario experts reveal stakeholder communication and Extended Producer Responsibility can promote packaging minimization. There was no agreement about whether Ontario has a waste policy framework to support bottled water waste reduction, reuse and recycling. Stakeholders did agree that a policy framework can help to promote packaging minimization. The discussion will examine the following: various concepts to support zero waste, eco-labelling, policy objectives, enforcement, use of language, focus on financial obligations, deposit-return systems, refillable containers, bottle standardization, waste minimization, how waste is measured, an evaluation of the waste hierarchy, reporting waste reduction and reuse, learning from history and alternative methods of encouraging the consumption of municipal water. The research recommends these changes be implemented with the development of the new Waste Diversion Act. The research recommends that Ontario implement Integrated Product Policy and Extended Producer Responsibility to support packaging minimization.

Ontarians are producing more waste per capita than previous generations and consuming more bottled water. Using the product policy quadrangle developed by Oosternhuis (1996), the research examines four components of Ontario bottled water packaging policy— policy objectives, policy instruments, product groups and actors. Interviews with Ontario experts reveal stakeholder communication and Extended Producer Responsibility can promote packaging minimization. There was no agreement about whether Ontario has a waste policy framework to support bottled water waste reduction, reuse and recycling. Stakeholders did agree that a policy framework can help to promote packaging minimization. The discussion will examine the following: various concepts to support zero waste, eco-labelling, policy objectives, enforcement, use of language, focus on financial obligations, deposit-return systems, refillable containers, bottle standardization, waste minimization, how waste is measured, an evaluation of the waste hierarchy, reporting waste reduction and reuse, learning from history and alternative methods of encouraging the consumption of municipal water. The research recommends these changes be implemented with the development of the new Waste Diversion Act. The research recommends that Ontario implement Integrated Product Policy and Extended Producer Responsibility to support packaging minimization.