Evaluation of the implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR) in Iran and proposing corrective solutions

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Researcher at Department of Infrastructure, Islamic Parliament Research Center of The Islamic Republic of IRAN

2 Islamic Parliament Research Center (IPRC)

3 Islamic Parliament Research Center

Abstract

The extended producer responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy that the producer's responsibility for a product extends from the production to the end of the product's life cycle. This policy was originally introduced to reduce the financial burden of local governments especially for complex and costly waste treatment and recycling process. EPR appeared in the policy and law of several European countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and France, in the early 1990s, but over the past decade, EPR programs have expanded and developed rapidly around the world. In IRAN, although many laws and regulations have been approved in recent years, there are still many obstacles and challenges in the way of the proper implementation of EPR. Among the challenges of this issue, we can point out things like: uniform taxes for all covered items, creating taxes only on recyclable goods, lack of transparency in how to spend the received funds, and frequent approval and change of laws and regulations. This study while examining the stakeholders, evaluation of global experiences and looking at the current situation of the country, has proposed solutions in the short term, medium term and long term. In the short term, it is proposed to amend the waste management governance structure in the country, to amend Article 4 of the Waste Management Law, to repeal all previous similar laws, and to formulate clear rules and guidelines for the allocation of facilities by the National Environment Fund. In the medium term, the creation and establishment of producer responsibility organizations will facilitate the implementation process in the country. In the long term, the correct implementation of the EPR will require increasing the public participation of citizens, conducting research studies with the aim of pathology and eliminating existing defects, environmental valuing, and expanding the covered items.

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Majlis and Rahbord

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 14 August 2023

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