Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Model

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Model Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which refers to manufacturing companies assuming responsibility for the collection and recycling of post-consumer packaging waste within a regulatory framework, has been successfully implemented in developed countries for more than 30 years. The Circular Economy concept, which envisages the reduction of waste, reuse, and recycling to be evaluated as raw material input in the economy and is beginning to gain widespread adoption globally, further increases the importance of waste management and EPR. ÇEVKO Foundation, which holds a pioneering position in Turkey's EPR model, advocates that the post-consumer waste management process should be conducted under industry leadership, as it is in developed countries and has previously been successfully implemented in our country. ÇEVKO Foundation General Secretary Mete İmer provided information on this matter. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), used for more than 30 years in developed countries and successfully implemented in our country between 2005-2020, describes an environmental policy in which the producer's responsibility for a product extends beyond consumers to the post-consumption phase of the product's lifecycle. According to the EPR model, companies placing packaged products on the market assume physical or financial responsibility and rights regarding the collection and recycling of waste generated after consumption of their products. Stating that Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model consists of 'institutional mechanisms' created for the prevention and management of waste related to specific products, ÇEVKO Foundation General Secretary Mete İmer said, "The EPR model directs physical and/or economic responsibility wholly or partly to the producer and includes incentive to encourage producers to consider environmental impacts when designing their products. The EPR system is not a tax. Financial contributions from producers are used directly by Producer Responsibility Organizations established and managed by producers on a non-profit basis and are not absorbed into the state's general budget. We observe that Turkey abandoned the EPR model after implementing it for 15 years. However, we firmly believe that in today's world, when post-consumer waste in particular has become raw material for industry globally, our country must also embrace this process through industry leadership and active participation." 56 Billion TL Contribution to Economy Through 15-Year EPR Model Implementation Before 2020 Stating that ÇEVKO Foundation was established 31 years ago through the initiative of companies that adopted Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in Turkey, Mete İmer said, "Since our foundation's establishment, we have conducted education and awareness-raising activities to create a recycling culture in society, collaborated with public authorities for legal infrastructure, and worked with municipalities and licensed collection and sorting facilities to ensure packaging waste is separately collected at source and recycled. We calculated that between 2005-2020, our EPR efforts conducted with our stakeholders contributed 56 billion TL to the country's economy. The sustainable separation of waste at source and its recycling are important for preventing environmental pollution, contributing to the economy, and advancing society." Expressing that ÇEVKO Foundation, which carries the identity of a civil society organization that has become part of society beyond being an industry initiative, continues its work toward helping society internalize recycling culture, combat climate crisis, understand the importance of circular economy and take action, Mete İmer said, "The growing knowledge level and sensitivity of our society regarding recycling is greatly influenced by global developments, legal regulations enacted in our country on this matter, the awareness, information and education work carried out by ÇEVKO Foundation and similar organizations for many years, and the importance given by media to this issue. In recent years, our foundation, with a focus on transition to circular economy and fighting climate crisis, has been conducting voluntary activities with companies within corporate responsibility scope including environmental cleanup, digital solutions for separate waste accumulation and collection at workplaces, provision of waste accumulation equipment, collection and reporting of post-consumer plastic packaging waste resulting from extended producer responsibility through cooperation between municipalities and licensed firms. In addition to our regularly published e-newsletters and e-magazines aimed at raising awareness especially on climate crisis and sustainability issues, we organize online discussions with industry, university, media professionals and youth under the organization of ÇEVKO Foundation's Climate Change and Sustainability Working Group."

EPR's Importance Increases in a World Transitioning to Circular Economy

Transition to circular economy and combating climate crisis are among the main activities that ÇEVKO Foundation has focused on for the past seven years. "Circular economy," which has the characteristic of being a new approach for a sustainable world and a new model not only in our country but worldwide, addresses "sustainable production," "sustainable consumption," and "advanced recycling" processes in a "circle" manner. Advanced recycling, which is an advanced stage of recycling and envisages the use of waste as a resource, lies at the foundation of the circular economy, which is a new model that will change the way business is conducted, and the 'zero waste' vision also gains importance in this direction. Saying that waste management, advanced recycling issues and the EPR model constitute the most important topics in circular economy aiming at sustainable development despite growing population worldwide, Mete İmer said, "On 1 November 2022, the 31st founding anniversary of our foundation, we organized an international conference. At this conference, the extended producer responsibility issue in circular economy was comprehensively addressed with the participation of national and international speakers from the public, civil society and business sectors. At this event, the 2022 Green Dot Industry Awards and Green Dot Press Awards found their recipients. Organizations that implement the world's most successful applications in Extended Producer Responsibility use the Green Dot as a symbol. As the representative of the Green Dot in Turkey, we work with more than 1,000 companies that use the "Green Dot" brand on their packaging." ÇEVKO Foundation General Secretary Mete İmer continued his remarks: "ÇEVKO Foundation's membership in PRO Europe, which consists of organizations using the Green Dot symbolizing EPR, subsequently EXPRA and Global Compact, stems from our mission to closely follow global developments and share them with our stakeholders. In the circular economy congress we organized in 2017, which is perhaps Turkey's first international circular economy congress, we called for the preparation of a plan for our country's transition to circular economy. If recycled, waste is raw material that enters the economy. With the transition to circular economy, the importance of waste reduction, reuse, and recycling has been better understood. The vision we put forth when embarking on our 31-year journey—creating recycling culture in our country and the habit of separately collecting post-consumer waste at source—and the method of developing this vision with the EPR model have gained importance worldwide with the transition to circular economy."

EPR's 10 Golden Rules

The '10 Golden Rules' of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model, announced by Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance (EXPRA), which holds the position of the international umbrella organization of the subject, are listed as follows: 1- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) covers the entire lifecycle of a product. 2- EPR compliance systems should be managed and operated by the responsible industry. 3- EPR compliance systems should be non-profit systems or systems that do not distribute profit to members. 4- To prevent conflicts of interest, those who collect, sort or recycle waste should not actively participate in EPR organizations because these players in the system are stakeholders from whom EPR organizations procure services. 5- There should be a strong legal framework regarding EPR implemented by public authorities. 6- Successful EPR is based on cooperation between public authorities and those implementing EPR. 7- Equal conditions should exist for EPR services provided in a region, with no unfair competition. 8- Companies under obligation should receive equal treatment and share the costs of EPR. 9- The EPR organization owned by industry should simultaneously pursue a public service mission. 10- EPR organizations should support obligated companies in improving the environmental performance of their products and packaging.

The Role of EPR and Producer Responsibility Organizations in Transition to Circular Economy

The EPR model emerged to provide solutions to problems created by increasing waste quantities, rising costs reflected on taxpayers, and resource waste caused by untreated waste. Producer Responsibility Organizations have 30 years of experience in implementing EPR, the visibility of implementation, and its effects. At a time when circular economy has strategically increased the importance of waste collection and valuation for nation-states, Producer Responsibility Organizations are active in the following areas: • Definition of minimum targets for reuse, recycling and recovery together with those placing products on the market and public authorities, • Determination of environmental contribution fee to be collected at the stage of placing on the market to cover the costs of end-of-life management of packaging, • Reduction or increase (eco-modulation) in environmental contribution fees paid by companies by considering environmental criteria such as eco-design of products, recyclability and use of recycled materials, • Ensuring companies' participation in the circular economy with their packaged products, • Increasing service efficiency while the public creates a sustainable fund for waste management service, • Keeping costs reflected to citizens under control by benefiting from economies of scale and efficiency, • Including citizens in the transition to circular economy by providing adequate separate collection opportunities and encouraging them to separate waste, adopt good consumption practices and discover new uses, • In certain cases, educating consumers about the consequences of polluting the environment and ensuring their participation in costs related to collection of polluting packaging, • Cooperating with recyclers to ensure recycled materials return to first-market producers.