Sustainability in Packaging speaker addresses producer responsibility

Posted by Jenni Spinner, Senior Editor -- Packaging Digest, 2/1/2012 8:00:00 AM

Betsy Dorn, Senior Consultant, StewardEdge USA Inc., will be presenting on Voluntary Producer Responsibility: Strategies for Success at the 6th annual Sustainability in Packaging conference. Betsy has over twenty-nine years of professional experience managing, designing, and implementing recycling and solid waste management projects. For 23 years, Betsy has been a consultant assisting public and private sector clients in developing plans, evaluating operations, launching new programs, and training solid waste and recycling professionals. In recent years, Betsy's work focus has shifted to product stewardship and the development of markets for recovered materials.

In your opinion, how has the acceptance been from the industry to voluntary EPR programs? What are the challenges lying ahead?

First, I use the term, extended producer responsibility (EPR), to describe legislated producer responsibility while I use terms such as product stewardship and voluntary producer responsibility to refer to initiatives that are implemented without a legislative requirement.
Many companies are launching voluntary producer responsibility initiatives on an individual basis and increasingly, companies are collaborating in launching multi-party initiatives. This is not new. Back in the late 80s and early 90s the aluminum can, steel can, glass bottle, and PET bottle manufacturers and brand owners had a number of voluntary initiatives underway and have spent several million dollars doing so. What is different about many past initiatives versus present ones is a growing focus on recovering materials independent of government sponsored collection systems such as through retail take back and separate collection systems.
Drivers for both past and present initiatives include consumer interest in having access to recycling, industry interest in capturing secondary material supply, and threat of legislation (deposit legislation as well as EPR).

Can you share with us some EPR success stories?

With respect to voluntary initiatives that are operated independent of local government recycling infrastructure, Estee Lauder's Cap Free Seas initiative is noteworthy, as well as Coke's NASCAR recycling program. The Carton Council is well known for its aggressive cartons recycling program however this is an example of a voluntary initiative that relies upon existing recycling collection infrastructure for its success.

What are you looking forward to hear at this year's Sustainability in Packaging Conference?
There are a number of great speakers and topics that I'm looking forward to; but I am most looking forward to the opportunity to network.

For more information about the 2012 Sustainability in Packaging conference or to register, visit here.

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Richard Sklena - 2012-1-2 15:31:14 EST

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