Producer responsibility
What is producer responsibility?
Producer responsibility in the UK is a policy tool that is an extension of the "polluter pays" principle, and is aimed at ensuring that businesses who place products on the market take responsibility for those products once they have reached the end of their life. At this stage, producer responsibility has been the policy approach taken in relation to the management of waste products, but there is no reason why a similar policy should not be developed to address the environmental issues connected with, for example, the manufacturing stage of a product's life cycle.
A "producer responsibility" policy underlies the approach taken in implementing the EC Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste in the UK and is the approach taken in both the EC Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and End of Life Vehicles (ELV) Directives. All these producer responsibility directives, as well as the forthcoming directive on Batteries and Accumulators were identified in the European Union's Fifth Environment Action Programme as "priority waste streams" because of growing concern about their impact on the environment. In these, Directives responsibility is clearly placed on producers to bear the costs of collection, sorting or treatment and recycling or recovery.
What are we trying to achieve?
The aim of the policy is to achieve a more sustainable approach to resource use and a reduction in the quantity of waste going to landfill, by diverting end of life products to re-use, recycling or other forms of recovery.
Producer responsibility places at least some of the costs of the management of products when they become waste onto the producers that placed the products on the market. Producer Responsibility schemes can give producers an incentive to design products in a way that:
- uses fewer resources
- reduces or eliminates the use of hazardous substances or materials in the manufacture of the product
- uses greater amounts of recyclate in the manufacture of the product
- minimises waste from the product
- can be reused
- can be more easily treated/dismantled and recycled
How is this legislated?
European legislation addresses the minimisation of material in the product, design of new products so that they can more easily be recycled at end of life, including reducing the use of hazardous substances, encouragement of reuse of the product, and the environmental disposal of the products, including, in particular, reaching target levels of recycling or other forms of recovery. These objectives are carried over into the implementing national legislation.
The following links provide details of the waste streams that have been addressed so far:
- Packaging and Packaging Waste
- End of Life Vehicles
- Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
- Batteries
We have also negotiated voluntary producer responsibility agreements with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) to increase the recycling of Direct Mail and Promotions material ("junk" mail), the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) to increase the recycling of magazines, and the Newspaper Publishers Association (NPA) to increase the recycled content of newsprint.
Find out more about voluntary agreements.
Defra has recently completed a consultation on the Regulations necessary to apply waste management controls to agricultural waste. One chapter of this consultation paper addressed the issue of farm plastic waste on which there is likely to be a producer responsibility approach taken to collection and recycling. For more information see:
Producer Responsibility is also under discussion in the development of the European Commission's Thematic Strategy on the Reduction and Recycling of Waste.
Which department is responsible for these policies?
Defra is responsible for policy on waste management but responsibility for producer responsibility legislation is split between several government departments and agencies:
Defra leads on the policy in most waste negotiations; responsibility for negotiation of producer responsibility legislation is split between Defra and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as both Departments have major interests.
You can find additional information on the DTI's website. See also our tyre disposal information
Funding is shared between Defra, HMT, ODPM and DTI; additional grants are available through WRAP.
Monitoring and enforcement is shared between Trading Standards, Environment Agencies and local authorities.
Advice for business is provided by Envirowise, WRAP, the EA's NetRegs, Trading Standards and is also available from many non-governmental sources.
Producer Responsibility Team
Head of Branch:
Judicaelle Hammond judicaelle.hammond@defra.gsi.gov.uk 0207 238 4346
General Enquiries:
David Westerman david.westerman@defra.gsi.gov.uk
020 7238 4344
Packaging:
Ian Atkinson ian.atkinson@defra.gsi.gov.uk 020 7238 4345
Rob Rawlings robert.rawlings@defra.gsi.gov.uk 0207 238 5878
Farm Plastics:
Modupe Manuel modupe.manuel@:defra.gsi.gov.uk 0207 238 4904
Batteries:
Alessandra Scoleri alessandra.scoleri@defra.gsi.gov.uk 0207 238 3322
Anju Sharda anju.sharda@defra.gsi.gov.uk 0207 238 4341
Voluntary Agreements:
Sean Ryan sean.ryan@defra.gsi.gov.uk 0207 238 4896
End-of-Life vehicles:
Steve Norgrove steve.norgrove@dti.gsi.gov.uk 020 7215 2981
WEEE:
Linda Prosper linda.prosper@berr.gsi.gov.uk 020 7215 5822 (general enquiries)
Jeanne Grey jeanne.grey@berr.gsi.gov.uk 020 7215 3729 (local authority enquiries)
Page last modified: 6 February 2008
Page published: 5 February 2003