Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Schemes Enter Uncharted Waters

On 26 October 2022, the European Commission published two legislative proposals (Directives) to update the EU's water legislation regarding: (i) urban wastewater treatment and (ii) surface and groundwater pollutants. The proposal on urban wastewater treatment provides that companies placing cosmetic and pharmaceutical products on the market should be liable for the costs incurred by Member States in upgrading urban water treatment plants. This is the very first time that an EPR scheme is proposed by the EU in the field of EU water policy.

And EPR is catching on in other places – while not included in the Commission's initial proposal on surface and groundwater pollutants, the European Parliament voted, at its plenary session on 12 September 2023, to support a new provision requiring the Commission to investigate the possibility of introducing EPR for substances subject to monitoring requirements under that legislation.