Extended Producer Responsibility as a tool for the sustainable transition

Abstract

This article examines the evolution of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes as a tool for promoting sustainable industry under EU law. Starting from the reconstruction of its dual nature — the financing of end-of-life waste management, on the one hand, and the steering of industrial design, on the other — the analysis shows how the recent EU regulatory wave (Batteries Regulation 2023/1542, Packaging Regulation 2025/40, Textiles Directive 2025/1892) may be read as a transition from a "first-generation" EPR, driven by an essentially redistributive rationale, to an EPR built around the eco-modulation of fees and the integration of the model within the wider ecodesign framework. That transition, however, remains incomplete: the incentive promise of EPR is still largely unfulfilled, owing to the dilution of the design incentive within collective schemes, the weakness of eco-modulation criteria, the erosion of the funding base caused by free riding in distance selling, and the cream-skimming risks associated with competition among Producer Responsibility Organizations. The article concludes that the future of EPR as a lever of sustainable industrial policy depends on its reintegration within the regulatory ecosystem outlined by Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 and on the effectiveness of digital product passport schemes.