EPR in Informal Economies – Who Gets the Money?

Extended Producer Responsibility is being promoted as a silver bullet, but its effectiveness is far from proven. While in Europe there may be a small number of organisations collecting and preparing materials for recycling, in markets where waste management services are not formalised this work is done by tens of thousands of people – often in poor conditions and for excruciatingly little income. So where brands are paying into EPR systems, but the workers are not feeling any benefit yet, what needs to change?

Zoë Lenkiewicz, Director of the Global Waste Lab, explores the social justice considerations of EPR in Global South contexts with three subject experts.