Industry perceptions of South African Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Regulations: Challenges and opportunities for the paper and packaging industry

Abstract

The waste management environment in South Africa is undoubtedly characterised by collection and landfilling with a limited amount of recycling. Landfills have several detrimental environmental effects, including air pollution from burning waste and methane gas release, soil and water pollution from seepage from the landfill cells, leachate collection systems, uncontrolled spillages and discharges, and more. In addition, most of the landfills in South Africa particularly those located in urban areas have or are nearing the end of their lifespan. On the other hand, there is a shortage of suitable land to establish new landfills. To combat the littering and landfilling issues, there is an urgent need for better waste management through promotion of recycling and reuse of End-of-Life (EOL) products. South Africa recently introduced the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Regulations to address the problems of waste management in the country. The EPR has now emerged and is now recognised worldwide as an effective and efficient waste management principle that promotes reuse and recycling of EOL products. The EPR is also regarded as a catalyst or pathway to attaining a Circular Economy (CE). The EPR is conceptualised from the polluter pays principle (PPP) whose basic feature is that producers are responsible for managing the waste generated by the products they put on the market. The “cheapest cost-avoider” (the producer) is the main actor within the value chain who is in the best position to provide a solution or the “best briber” (producer) who is best suited to transmit the stimulus of the EPR policy to the most suitable stages. The successful implementation of EPR therefore largely depends on the practices and actions of producers. The aim of the research is to assess the paper and packaging industry’s perceptions of the opportunities and challenges associated with the EPR Regulations in South Africa. The EPR is a new concept in South Africa and there is very little research on the subject in this country. This research is therefore exploratory and qualitative. The research lays a foundation for future research. Data was principally obtained through semi-structured interviews with producers and Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) in the paper and packaging industry. The results showed that in principle, there is widespread support of EPR by the packaging industry in South Africa. However, the industry has certain reservations about the EPR regulations. From the research, the following challenges were identified: disproportionate allocation of responsibility to the producers, the costs of rolling out accessible EPR collection points, weak or absence of monitoring and enforcement by Government and concomitantly the problem of free riders. Although EPR presents immense benefits to the environment, the research established that there are no or very little financial benefits of EPR to the producers at least in the short term. Recommendations are made to alleviate these challenges. This research will contribute towards future research that looks to undertake an empirical investigation of the economic and financial benefits of EPR to producers. Further research can be conducted in several areas pertaining to EPR such as exploring South African companies’ readiness to implement EPR.