Extended Producer Responsibility

When we mentioned about producer responsibility, we always refer producers to the manufacturers, the parties who produce items for sale. However, under the Extended Producer Responsibility concept, producers are referring to everyone in different stage of products life cycle. From the extracting of resources, converting resources to products, distributing and selling of products, using the products and finally disposing of the products when it comes to end of life of the products, everyone is the producer. It is calculating based on the level of responsibility by any party who is benefited from the products. The more you enjoy it, the more you should bear the responsibility of disposing it. The application of this concept in EU and Japan has actually forced industry to practice 3R thoroughly. Design for Environment or Eco Design is a continue strategy by the manufacturers to reduce their use of resources and to reduce the generation of waste. For the consumers, green purchasing and buying products with longer life span and multi functions will reduce the cost they need to pay to disposal. For example, purchasing with higher price and replacing the home appliances once in five year instead of once in a year will actually help in reducing the waste generation, a gesture that most Japanese are willing to comply. Having said this, for developing countries when it comes to affordability and green procurement, pricing factor is always supersede other considerations. It is not that people are not environmentally concerned, but the social well being will normally has a say in personal decision making.

Extended Producer Responsibility, although a concept friendly towards environment is not easy to implement if people are not ready to share the public environmental cost for keeping a good living environment. For Malaysia, the day perhaps is not that soon.