Pollution caused by packaging disposed of incorrectly is an increasingly serious problem, and one that needs to be addressed urgently by designing products that are easier to recycle, and investing in collection and recycling systems.

Experience suggests that the principle of mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) can have significant potential to achieve a range of policy objectives. These policy objectives encompass changes both upstream (e.g. design for recycling) and downstream (e.g. increased collection, higher overall rates of recycling and improved technologies for sorting and packaging recycling).

The EPR Toolbox, developed by the PREVENT Waste Alliance, is a collection of internationally relevant knowledge on the topic of EPR for packaging. Its aim is to promote knowledge exchange and support the development of EPR systems worldwide. It contains detailed training materials on EPR and provides an introduction to a number of distinct issues, such as roles and responsibilities, finance, or collection and recycling of packaging waste.

The training material of the EPR Toolbox has already been used, for example, in workshops with stakeholders in Southeast Asia, for internal company training and for the development of a free open online course.

The EPR Toolbox was developed within the PREVENT Waste Alliance working group on plastics in cooperation with its members.