The debates around extended producer responsibility for packaging - an approach whereby consumer goods companies pay some or all of the costs for managing packaging materials - have been raging in the U.S. for more than six years. During this time, UPSTREAM has organized, facilitated, and participated in multiple dialogues and forums with consumer brands, policymakers, public interest groups, local governments, packaging suppliers and waste and recycling companies. While there has been significant opposition from most affected consumer goods companies, there has also been a slow but steady groundswell of support from local and state governments, as well as an increasing openness from other business sectors, especially in the last year. Below, we'll lay out the details on this growth of EPR acceptance in the U.S. and describe why the plastics recycling sector has good reason to get on board with the policy push.
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