On June 15, for the first time, more than 100 businesses in the packaging value chain, together with more than 50 other organizations, publicly recognized that without Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), packaging collection and recycling is unlikely to be meaningfully scaled and tens of millions of tons of packaging will continue to end up in the environment every year.
The statement, published by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, has been signed by leading brands and retailers, including Beiersdorf, Danone, Diageo, Ferrero, FrieslandCampina, H&M, Henkel, Inditex, L’Oréal, Mars, Mondi, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Pick n Pay, Reckitt, Schwarz Group, The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever, and Walmart); manufacturers and recyclers, including Borealis, Berry Global, DS Smith, Mondi, Tetra Pak, Indorama Ventures, and Veolia; investors such as European Investment Bank and Closed Loop Partners; and NGOs, including WWF, The Recycling Partnership, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and As You Sow.
The live launch featured (top l. to r.) Maarten Dubois, OECD; Matt Demorais, Unilever; Sara Wingstrand, Ellen MacArthur Foundation; (bottom l. to r.) Guillermo González, Ministry of the Environment, Chile; and Louise Boyle, The Independent.Notes the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. “For a circular economy, packaging that can’t be eliminated or reused must be collected, sorted, and recycled or composted after use. But currently the economics do not stack up: collection, sorting, and recycling or processing packaging costs more than the revenues made from selling the recycled materials.
“We need dedicated, ongoing, and sufficient funding to make the economics of recycling work. This statement and the supporting position paper set out why mandatory, fee-based EPR is the only proven and likely way to provide this funding.”
 | Read an update on EPR packaging legislation in the U.S. from AMERIPEN. |
By signing the statement, endorser organizations recognize this need and make three firm commitments:
- Ensure their entire organization is aligned on, and their actions are in line with this statement;
- Be constructive in their engagement with governments and other stakeholders: advocating for the establishment of well-designed EPR policies and being supportive in working out how to implement and continuously improve EPR schemes in the local context;
- Engage with their peers and the relevant associations and collaborations we are part of to work towards aligning their positions and actions accordingly.
Says the foundation, while they might not have all the answers on how best to implement EPR for packaging in different geographies around the world, the endorsers of this statement are sending a strong signal that not making EPR work is not an option, and they are willing to step up and be part of the solution.
| | Read about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's U.S. Plastics Pact. |
To launch the statement, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation held a webinar, “A Circular Economy for Packaging: Extended Producer Responsibility,” moderated by Louise Boyle, Senior Climate Correspondent at The Independent and featuring Guillermo González, Head of Circular Economy Office, Ministry of the Environment, Chile; Maarten Dubois, Project Lead Circular Economy, OECD; Matt Demorais, Corporate Affairs Director, Unilever; and Sara Wingstrand, Programme Manager at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
