There is a better way.
Make Extended Producer Responsibility a reality.
Assess.
Assess the political, economic and commercial environment. Collect real data to assess the types & volumes of material, where the materials can be aggregated and how. Identify the key stakeholders. Find the viable circular economy pathways now and in the future.
Engage.
Engage with stakeholders and consumers. Identify potential partners, funders. Create an industry oversight body for the project. Assess and engage with existing schemes - could alliances potentially save time, cost and pool resources?
Design.
Document the logistics, recovery and recycling processes. Model the costs. Reference to potential funding sources. Create a prototype collection design, with testing variations. Prototype EPR scheme and governance structure is formulated.
Test.
Collection, logistics, reuse and recycling pathways must be tested to prove design. Variations in tested aspects will help in final design. Likewise communications and engagement methodology. Cost assumptions must be proved. End user feedback is critical.
Refine.
Test phase data is critically evaluated and logistics design refined accordingly. Broader EPR scheme design can now be fine-tuned. Key stakeholder commitment finalised. Free rider strategy formulated.
Implement.
EPR entity creation. Governance & document creation. Board appointment. Contractual commitment from members. EPR scheme hires. Launch planning. Logistics contracting. Infrastructure procurement. Scheme Launch.
Ed combines over 30 years of business experience with a solid grounding in sustainability fundamentals, to provide a practical lens in addressing key product stewardship design, stakeholder engagement and implementation issues.
Over twelve years involvement in plastics fabrication and recycling (extrusion, injection moulding & blown film), building knowledge of material pathways and possible circular solutions. Developing and operating product stewardship programs in Australia & New Zealand, he built a skillset around source segregation, collection, size reduction, transport and recycling strategies. Ed created the Plasback agricultural plastics stewardship scheme, worked with Paintback and now consults across a number of stewardship projects.
Ed George
BCA, MEnv