Extended Producer Responsibility
What are EPR schemes?
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach that makes producers responsible for the end-of-life management of the products they place on the market. By shifting responsibility upstream to manufacturers, EPR schemes help drive eco-design, improve waste management performance, and support the transition toward a more circular economy.
What We Do
RDC Environment has extensive experience supporting public authorities and PROs in the design, evaluation, and optimisation of EPR schemes. Our work spans every stage of an EPR system’s lifecycle, from early strategic thinking to detailed impact assessments and international comparisons.
We carry out a wide range of studies tailored to the needs of our clients:
- Benchmark studies: comparative analyses of EPR systems in different countries or regions to identify best practices, governance models, financing mechanisms, and performance indicators.
- Cost–benefit analyses: comprehensive assessments covering environmental, economic, and social impacts, enabling informed decisions on the efficiency and added value of existing or future EPR schemes.
- Support and strategic studies: assistance for authorities and stakeholders in improving existing systems and aligning EPR schemes with broader waste and circular economy policies.
- Prospective studies: forward-looking assessments supporting the potential implementation of new EPR schemes, including scenario modelling, stakeholder consultation, feasibility assessments, and policy recommendations.
- Characterisation studies: performing audits in sorting and recycling centres to validate operations within these centres and ensure trustworthy, transparent data to be used for calculating sorting and recycling rates for the specific sector(s).
Our EPR-related expertise spans a wide variety of product groups and waste streams, including: batteries, textiles, furniture, waste oil, packaging, construction materials, chemicals (adhesive and coating products) and micropollutants.
For some of these topics such as batteries, textile and packaging, you can find more information on their respective page regarding the studies on their EPR schemes we have performed. Studies on other topics we have perforemed are shortly presented here:
- Waste Oil: RDC Environment carried out an impact study on policy measures aimed at improving the collection and regeneration of used oils. The work included benchmarking current practices across the EU, analysing lubricant marketing and used-oil management data, and developing public policy scenarios assessed through environmental, economic, and qualitative cost–benefit analyses. The study identified best practices for Member States and contributed to the revision of the Waste Framework Directive.
- Micropollutants: our team conducted a study for the European Commission on the implementation of EPR for micropollutants. Within this study, the feasibility and impact of various EPR implementation measures are assessed, including the exemptions provided for biodegradable products and for small marketers.
- Construction Materials / Construction Waste : RDC Environment contributed to the DÉMOCLÈS project to improve the sorting and recycling of finishing work waste (e.g., plaster, WEEE, openings, carpets) on demolition and renovation sites through benchmarking of European waste traceability systems, co-development of a traceability scheme adapted to all stakeholders, and modelling of implementation costs. Click here for the full report (only available in French).
- Coating and adhesive products: For ADEME, we carried out an international review of existing recycling initiatives for these products. The findings were summarised in a report describing the regulatory context, practical organisation, business model, and key actors for each initiative. A cross-cutting analysis also highlighted best practices that could be applied in France. Click here for the full report.
- Characterization:
- Since 2014, RDC has been responsible for performing various characterisations campaigns on Specific Diffuse Household Waste / dangerous waste in France. This work also included performing the associated statistical analysis.
- Since 2010, RDC Environment has audited Belgian, French, and Dutch shredders that process ELVs and has calculated the recycling and recovery rates for each shredder based on a model developed by RDC Environment.
We bring deep, multi-sector expertise in EPR, built on a wide array of studies ranging from strategic assessments to detailed impact analyses, covering products as diverse as textiles, furniture, batteries, packaging, chemicals, construction materials, waste oils, and micropollutants.
