Individual Producer Responsibility in the WEEE Directive - From Theory to Practice?

In the current discourse over what constitutes successful Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy implementation, there is an on-going debate over the ability of programme design to include an appropriate incentive mechanism to stimulate producers to improve the design of their products for reduced life cycle impacts, and especially the impacts and costs from the end-of-life management. At the centre of the debate is the Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) which has the explicit goal to encourage the design and production of electrical and electronic products which facilitate dismantling, recovery and in particular the reuse and recycling of WEEE. Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) is the main mechanism to achieve this goal, whereby each producer is responsible for financing the waste from his own products.

This thesis presents an account of the transposition outcome of the WEEE Directive into EU Member State legal text and the practical implementation that has emerged as a result. It explores the factors that have led to the current impasse regarding IPR implementation in Europe, and together with the investigation of more successful IPR implementation and industry practice, suggests a characterisation of possible ways of implementing IPR given today’s reality.