Municipal waste has increased 22 % per capita from 1980 to 1997. At the same time, the difficulty of siting new waste disposal facilities has increased. While major progress has been made to lessen the per capita generation of air and water pollution over the past decades, waste generation is still on the rise. Faced with the increase of waste, many governments have reviewed available policy options and concluded that placing the responsibility for the post-consumer phase of certain goods on producers could provide a means to relieve certain environmental pressures, arising from post-consumer waste. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach under which producers accept significant responsibility - financial and/or physical - for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products. Assigning such responsibility could provide incentives to prevent wastes at the source, promote product design for the environment and support the achievement of public recycling and materials management goals. Within the OECD the trend is towards the extension of EPR to new products, product groups and waste streams such as electrical appliances and electronics. This guidance manual represents one means to inform national governments about the potential benefits and costs associated with EPR.

Executive Summary
Chapter 1: Overview and Context
Chapter 2: EPR Policy and Considerations
Chapter 3: Instruments and Measures
Chapter 4: Roles and Responsibilities
Chapter 5: Trade and Competition
Chapter 6: Free Riders, Orphan, and Existing Products
Chapter 7: From Design to Implementation
Chapter 8: Future Steps
References
Annex 1. Municipal Waste Generation in OECD
Annex 2. Definitions of Environmentally-Related Taxes and Charges
Annex 3. Recycling America's Rechargeable Batteries
Annex 4. Tables
Annex 5. Minimum Recycled Content Laws in the US
Annex 6. Characteristics of EPR Programs for Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) in Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the EU
Annex 7: Flow Chart of Recycling and Consumer Electronic Goods - Japan
Annex 8: Allocation of Responsibility for Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) in Japan and the Netherlands - Chart A and B
Annex 9: Degree of Producer Involvement
Annex 10. Examples of Actors and their Role in the Product Chain
Annex 11. Case Study of the Swedish Automobile Take-Back Requirement
Annex 12: Lessons Learned by the DSD
Annex 13: Contract Covering the Right to Use the Trademark
Annex 14: EPR in Germany
Annex 15: EPR Comparison Matrix