How EPR, An Obscure Recycling Policy, Went From Radioactive To A Global Imperative
Are we at the point where regulation and investing are finally in sync to do something BIG when it comes to plastic waste?
Where regulation is done right, society benefits, and usually, investor opportunities follow. One of the areas where we're seeing this happen in real-time is with the further development of a policy concept called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for plastic packaging.
The idea is that brands pay fees based on how much plastic packaging they sell into a market. When it works well, those fees are used to prevent plastic pollution and advance the circular economy. When it works poorly, those fees are not invested in waste management or recycling infrastructure. So it becomes a regressive tax, and we still have a pollution problem.
Once considered so toxic that nobody would touch it, EPR regulation is taking center stage and, along with it, opening up all sorts of opportunities in the recycling sector around the world.
Political consensus – a critically endangered species in a polarized world – is showing up, and as a result, new opportunities are emerging for businesses to innovate, participate, and profit while addressing plastic waste at scale.
Background: EPR was once untouchable
In 2011, when I was at Walmart, Kim Jeffery, then CEO of Nestlé Waters, came to Bentonville to convince us to support EPR policies for plastic packaging. At the time, EPR was like the 'third rail' of plastic packaging reform—a charged topic no one dared to touch, much like welfare reform in the '90s in the US (The term "third rail" comes from the DC Metro's electrified rail: if you grab it, you're politically toast).
Kim was ahead of his time, advocating for policies that would make manufacturers responsible for the waste they create. He even helped launch a nonprofit to push the idea. But the industry wasn't ready—EPR was a non-starter internally at most companies. Despite efforts to push legislation and run cost-benefit studies, Recycling Reinvented (the nonprofit) shut down in 2015, having made little headway.
A shift in the narrative: plastic pollution takes center stage
Yet, in that same year, the conversation around plastic changed dramatically. The release of Jenna Jambeck's groundbreaking report brought new urgency to the issue, revealing that more than 8 million tons of plastic waste enter our oceans every year. This was a wake-up call for all – from industry executives to activists to policymakers.
By 2018, public awareness skyrocketed—thanks to viral videos of a turtle with a straw lodged in its nose, David Attenborough's Blue Planet II, and high-profile actions like the Queen of England banning plastic straws from Buckingham Palace. Plastic pollution was in the zeitgeist and the conversation quickly evolved from whether plastic pollution was a problem to how we solve it.
Having worked in environmental sustainability for 20 years, I'd never seen a topic go from relative obscurity to top of the charts so quickly. One key factor was that it benefited from nearly uniform support, in stark contrast to other politicized issues. Nobody is in favor of plastic pollution - even the chemical industry wants to ensure their products are properly managed at end of life.
Amid this changing landscape, attention shifted to emerging markets where the problem was most urgent. That's why I launched Circulate Capital to help tackle the problem by mobilizing private capital to invest in solutions. Business leaders were no longer asking, "Is plastic waste really an issue?" Instead, the question was, "What are we going to do about it?" Suddenly, EPR, once unthinkable, started to look not just feasible but essential—if done in a way that incentivizes recycling, and levels the playing field across an industry.
Why EPR now? From controversy to consensus
Today, the writing is on the wall: EPR policies are gaining momentum around the world. Countries like India and Brazil are already implementing a second generation of EPR laws, while the Philippines and Thailand are adopting EPR frameworks for the first time, recognizing that regulation is critical to solving the plastic crisis. Even in the US, where regulatory change is notoriously slow, EPR is taking root at the state level and emerging as a central piece of national conversations.
Notably, EPR is also one of the least controversial components of the ongoing negotiations of the Global Plastics Treaty. Businesses have resisted fragmented local regulations—like the state-by-state versions of EPR for single-use packaging that exist today in the US—because the complexity and cost of doing business in 50 different ways increases exponentially for a global brand owner.
They also recognize the inevitability of these policies and how disastrous the policies could be if implemented poorly.
One unexpected dynamic has been the rise of Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) as influential power brokers. These groups operate as part civil service organizations, part industry groups, and part NGO — depending on where and how they were developed. For better or worse, many are now well-positioned to be the arbiters of how EPR schemes actually get implemented.
The truth is that not all EPR schemes are created equally and doing it in a way that actually results in less pollution is easier said than done.
The so-what: EPR as a catalyst for global business and investment
This convergence of policy and business signals a tipping point for adoption of EPR. Companies now recognize that patchwork solutions won't suffice—what's needed are standardized frameworks to make meaningful progress on eliminating plastic pollution AND create a level playing field for business. EPR provides the structure to move from fragmented, reactive measures to proactive strategies that address plastic pollution at its source.
Global businesses are stepping up. Many are banding together to promote a cohesive EPR agenda through groups such as the Consumer Goods Forum , the Ellen MacArthur Foundation , and the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty – all to ensure greater collaboration between industry and government.
For the investment world, the opportunity is twofold:
- Operational Efficiency – EPR levels the playing field and enables companies to rethink their packaging and supply chains, access more recycled material, reducing costs and increasing resilience over the long term.
- Investment Opportunities – With EPR expanding globally, investors have a chance to back companies and innovations that will thrive under these new frameworks—from waste collection technologies to advanced recycling systems.
If businesses and investors align with these shifts, EPR can not only help reduce plastic waste but also unlock new markets and investment opportunities.
It gives me hope that there are pathways for effective policy in the circular economy to drive impact in a net positive way. But the key will be for all actors to keep aligned on the end goal and avoid the temptation to take advantage of this momentum for other competing agendas.
This is the moment to leverage policy alignment as a springboard for growth. Because when regulation and investment finally align, the potential to create change—at scale—becomes truly inevitable.
