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.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.

No description available.

The purpose of this report was to find out if grocery stores in Örnsköldsvik and Kramfors municipality recycle their producer responsibility package waste, hazardous waste and their food waste and in what way they get rid of their waste. Are there any differences in how these two municipalities does it? Are there any variance between different stores depending on size, location and finally come up with suggestions for improvements. To find out the answer to this questions phone interviews with 25 grocery stores in these two municipalities were conducted. The results from the survey shows that grocery stores in both municipalities sort out their producer responsibility package waste and hazardous waste to a great extent. Only four stores indicated that they sorted out food waste. Responses were varied regarding in what way the grocery stores get rid of their waste. Some stores get their waste picked-up by the municipality and others by different entrepreneurs. One of the big food chains have a contract with an entrepreneur to pick up their waste at all the stores in this part of the country. Some of the suggested improvements are to minimize the amount of food waste that gets thrown away and clarify the laws on what waste that the municipality have monopoly on. The conclusion of this report is that grocery stores in these two municipalities are good at sorting out their waste except food waste.

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.

Starting in the early 2000s, a number of U.S. communities have adopted "zero waste" commitments to reduce waste as much as possible through recycling, composting, and other means. Little in-depth information exists about the impetus for or efficacy of these efforts. The author sought to build knowledge on the topic by conducting case studies of two communities: the zero waste efforts of Boulder, Colorado, and the Zero Waste Zones established in Atlanta. The two cases presented an interesting contrast, in terms of sector driving zero waste: public in Boulder, and private in Atlanta. The study aimed to use the experiences of these two communities, supplemented with background research on materials management and application of relevant theory, to develop a set of considerations for more informed pursuit of zero waste. The author gathered qualitative data by conducting unstructured interviews of the actors involved with the zero waste efforts in Boulder and Atlanta. Interview questions concerned, e.g., zero waste goals and plans, the impacts of zero waste on the business or organization, and influential individuals or organizations. The study produced the following set of considerations: Definition of waste determines priorities and impacts of zero waste efforts; responsibility for waste arbitrarily resides with consumers and local government instead of producers; the private, public, and nonprofit sectors each play important roles in waste reduction; local government should not bear the full burden of materials management; and state and federal government can offer useful policy tools to advance zero waste. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

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