Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) focuses on the responsibility of the producer for the impact of their product in the final stage of its life cycle. These regulations will supposedly give producers greater motivation to design products that minimise environmental and health impacts. One of the measures adopted within international contexts has been to increase the responsibility of the producer to incorporate end-of-life treatment of their product.
Over the last 50 years, the production and supply of goods globally has ballooned as the market has expanded. Consumers have more choice than ever before with the range of different products constantly growing and individual items being produced on an ever-increasing scale.
The increase in consumerism and convenience lifestyle has led to many challenges for our environment. Irresponsible disposal, lack of widespread awareness and the production of badly designed packaging has led to the rise in waste and litter in the environment and the rapid loss of landfill space all over South Africa. In order to help manage this problem, governments world wide have introduced Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Mandatory EPR came into effect in South Africa on 5 May 2021 under Section 18 of the National Environmental Management Waste Act (NEMWA). In a nutshell, EPR means that producers of packaged goods are responsible not only for health and safety issues associated with their products, but now also for the management of their post-consumer packaging waste, including collection, sorting and recycling. Strict government targets have been set for annual collection and recycling over the next five years and the EPR will result in an increase in investment in collection and recycling infrastructure in the country.
The initial deadline of 15 January 2021 was postponed to 5 May 2021 when the new regulations were published and came into effect. The regulations are therefore effective from this date and existing producers must have registered with the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries no later than 5 November 2021 to prevent penalties. 2022 will be the first year of the EPR scheme implementation and reporting, and any company or brand that makes or imports any form of plastic packaging for distribution in South Africa will be required to pay this extended producer responsibility fee per ton.
EPR will have a profound effect on all manufacturers that supply goods to consumers, as careful planning regarding packaging is necessary to make sure that the packaging falls within specified regulations. The producer must ensure that the products and packaging thereof that they place on the market do not negatively affect the environment after consumers have finished with it and must ensure that appropriate post-use treatment occurs. Doing this may mean taking physical or financial accountability for the products. These policy objectives include changes for both upstream (e.g., design for recycling) and downstream (e.g., plans for increased collection and rates of recycling).
The introduction of EPR regulations in South Africa is a huge step towards a circular economy with producers now responsible for their waste instead of placing the cost of collection and disposal squarely on the public consumers. However, many smaller companies are still grappling with the registration process, and it remains to be seen whether the implementation of EPR in South Africa will be a successful undertaking.
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