Black Salmon / Bohdan Populov / Shutterstock.com Voices | Responsibility IN PROMO, WE SAY that product responsibility is everyone’s job. And increasingly, our work doesn’t end when handing off merchandise to the end user. Extended Producer Responsibility is a growing policy approach that assigns producers and importers significant new responsibility for the treatment or disposal of products at the end of their life cycle. That responsibility includes financial and physical concerns. EPR is also described as a method to identify the various environmental impacts relevant to a product’s entire life cycle, including its packaging. The driving factor for many of these policies is the goal of moving away from a linear economy, which entails taking, making, consuming and disposing of resources. Governments are instead seeking a circular economy that invests in advanced technologies related to product design, recycling and manufacturing that leads to zero-waste, closed-loop systems in which resources are not discarded. The elements of a closed loop entail production, usage, reduction, recycling and reuse. The model prioritizes products that are made to be made again. Closing The Loop More state legislatures are increasing producers’ burden to ensure sustainability is carried through to the end of a product’s life cycle. Here’s what you need to know. by Maurice Norris 34 • JUNE 2023 • PPAI
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