EPR Around the World: Regional Realities and Lessons Learned

An Overview about NA, Latam, SA, china and ANZ regions

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has become the cornerstone of global packaging regulation, reshaping how brands design, collect, and finance the lifecycle of their packaging. However, its evolution looks very different across regions. While some economies have built mature, data-driven systems, others are still balancing social, economic, and infrastructure realities.This article explores how EPR is unfolding across South America, North America, Latin America, China, Australia & New Zealand, drawing insights from recent presentation at the Sustainable Packaging Summit in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

🌍 Africa & Middle East: Building from Informal Systems to Structured EPR

South Africa stands out as the continent’s most advanced model, transitioning from voluntary initiatives to a mandatory EPR framework under the 2021 Section 18 Regulations. Industry-led PROs such as PETCO, PolyCo, and MetPac are now accredited and fund municipal collection, recycling targets, and informal-sector integration.

Across other African nations, EPR is emerging to secure local supply of recyclables rather than merely for compliance. Kenya’s move from bans (like the 2017 plastic bag ban) to a full producer-registration and financing model illustrates this shift.

In the Middle East, the UAE implemented a 2024 EPR framework covering packaging, electronics, and batteries—while Saudi Arabia’s 2023 Waste Management Law includes EPR pilots aligned with Vision 2030. Both rely on state-steered PROs under ministry supervision, moving toward greater producer-funded autonomy once baseline data and infrastructure are established.

🇨🇦 North America: Two Tracks, One Destination

Canada – The Mature Template

Canada is now a global reference point for operational, producer-funded EPR systems. Provinces like British Columbia (Recycle BC) and Quebec (ÉEQ) operate comprehensive frameworks that prioritise audited data, transparent fees, and clear producer responsibility.However, each province still defines its own reporting formats and targets, creating mild friction for national alignment. Efforts to harmonise reporting taxonomy and fee structures are currently underway.

United States – From Fragmentation to Convergence

The U.S. EPR landscape is fragmented but rapidly evolving. States such as Maine, Oregon, California, Colorado, Washington, Maryland, and Minnesota have enacted legislation, each with distinct governance and fee models.Despite this diversity, all require producer registration, PRO participation, and transparent reporting, signalling early convergence. Industry pressure from major brands and retailers is already driving harmonised recyclability definitions and reporting systems.EPR is increasingly seen as the financial bridge to address low-value materials—films, flexibles, and mixed plastics—that traditional deposit systems fail to capture.

🌎 Latin America: Social Integration and Local Realities

Chile – Leading with Structure

Chile remains the most advanced EPR model in Latin America, implementing full mandatory EPR for packaging since 2023. The system mirrors European frameworks, led by ReSimple, a national Producer Responsibility Organisation. Both B2B and B2C packaging are covered under strict reporting obligations.

Brazil – Scale and Informality

Brazil, Latin America’s largest plastic producer and the eighth biggest contributor to global plastic pollution, is now rolling out a national plastics recycling act (October 2025) with recycling and recycled-content targets for 2026 and 2040. An estimated 90% of waste collection is carried out by informal waste pickers, who manually sort materials and depend on recyclables for income. Their contribution drives 95% aluminium, 70% paper, and 50% glass recycling rates, despite limited formal infrastructure.

Regional Reflection

Latin America’s path to EPR must reflect cultural and economic contexts. Directly replicating the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) could disrupt livelihoods and fail to deliver sustainable outcomes. As highlighted in the presentation’s final reflection, collaboration with waste pickers and gradual implementation are critical to success.

🇨🇳 China & East Asia: Centralised Acceleration (contextual insights)

While China’s detailed EPR developments were not the focus of the presentations, its top-down regulatory style strongly influences the emerging models in Asia and the Middle East. China’s “Circular Economy Promotion Law” and pilot city EPR schemes (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen) emphasise producer accountability and recycled-content mandateswithin a tightly controlled policy ecosystem.These initiatives showcase how centralised enforcement can rapidly scale infrastructure and data collection—offering lessons for Gulf states and developing regions that are still building baseline systems.

🇦🇺 Australia & 🇳🇿 New Zealand: Fragmented Frameworks Seeking Alignment

Australia’s EPR landscape remains complex and state-fragmented, with seven states and two territories operating under different waste laws and procedures. The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO)—technically a charity, not a government agency—coordinates voluntary reporting and targets but faces criticism for poor alignment, limited enforcement, and unrealistic PCR content expectations for fibre-based packaging.

Recovery rates highlight the challenge: only 56% overall packaging recovery, with plastics at 19%—lagging behind paper, glass, and metals.In response, the Visual Media Association (VMA) and APIA propose a new industry-led compliance model aligned with CEPI standards, featuring third-party audits, training, and a Sustainability Advisory Council to improve accountability.

New Zealand, on the other hand, shows stronger sectoral collaboration, guided by organisations like PAC.NZ and Plastics NZ, and is consulting on new packaging reforms closely modelled on Australia’s learnings.

🧭 Key Takeaways: Local Context Matters

Region	System Maturity	Key Driver	Challenges	Distinctive Feature
South Africa	Mature	Legal mandate & material security	Integration of informal sector	Accredited PROs fund municipal collection
UAE / Saudi Arabia	Emerging	Vision 2030 & waste diversification	Infrastructure and data gaps	State-steered, transitioning to producer funding
Canada	Advanced	Producer accountability	Provincial misalignment	Industry-run PROs with transparent data
USA	Developing	State-level pilots & retailer pressure	Fragmented systems	Brand-driven harmonisation
Chile	Advanced (LatAm)	Mandatory EPR	Market adaptation	European-style PRO model
Brazil	Evolving	Plastic pollution mitigation	Informal labour & enforcement	Waste-picker integration
Australia / NZ	Transitional	National targets & voluntary schemes	Fragmentation & unclear accountability	Industry-government negotiation for fibre-sector leadership

Conclusion

EPR is no longer a policy experiment—it’s a global imperative. Yet success depends on more than copy-pasting European frameworks. Each region’s mix of social structures, infrastructure, and market readiness must guide design and implementation. From South Africa’s integration of informal collectors to Canada’s data-driven governance and Australia’s push for sector-specific self-regulation, the lesson is clear: effective EPR must be locally adapted, socially inclusive, and transparently enforced.

The content of this article are from the presentations from the panel below: Cory Connors as moderator, Filipe Vieira de Castro, Fengkai Wang, Kellie Northwood and myself.