Session: LCA and Regulation

Life Cycle Environmental and Energy Impacts of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Policy
H. Scott Mathews, Carnegie Mellon University
Y. Anny Huang,^* Carnegie Mellon University

Increased production of goods in modern times has improved people’s quality of life and enabled economic growth. However, it has also led to significant increases in resource extraction, environmental degradation, and waste output. Traditionally, municipalities are given the responsibility to manage the increasing amount of waste but have no control of waste generation. In the recent decade, several countries in Europe and Asia have transferred the responsibility of waste management to producers by implementing extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies— policies that require producers to be financially or physically responsible for their products after their useful life. EPR policies give producers strong incentives to redesign their products with more effective end-of-life management (EOLM) in mind. It often results in producers having to “take back” products from customers, requiring the design of reverse logistics systems to handle the large volumes of product. Reverse transportation and recycling of products are two important life cycle phases to consider when comparing EPR policy options with traditional EOLM of waste.

Using the Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA) methodology, the authors conducted an economy-wide assessment of the potential impacts of EPR policy scenarios. Using data from the purchaser price input-output model compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, which provide estimates of transportation expenses resulting from delivery of goods from producers to consumers, life cycle environmental impacts of transporting goods between producers and consumers are calculated and compared to the environmental “credits” of recycling estimated using a modified EIO-LCA model. It is found that although reverse logistics transportation of product take-back contributes to certain environmental burdens in the economy, the energy consumed during delivery of most goods is relatively small compared to the energy embodied in the goods during the manufacturing phase. Improved recycling and resource recovery practices can potentially reduce the total energy consumption of industries in the economy. This presentation provides an overview of the research findings and policy implications.

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