Extended Producer Responsibility (epr) System For Legal Research

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a newly environmental policy principle to promote environmental improvements at the total life cycle of a product, by extending the producer's responsibilities of the product to various parts of product's entire life cycle, and especially to the take-back, recycling and final disposal of a product at its post-consumer stage of a product's life cycle. There are four principal goals for EPR: that is, pollution reduction at source, effective waste management, environmental friendly design for products and closure of materials use loops to promote sustainable development. The main features of EPR is allocating the waste disposal responsibility reasonably, by the responsibility scheme and the driving force of price signal ,which will give producer incentive to take the most effective way in waste management and conduct clean production and environmental compatible design.Over the last two decades, faced with the waste increase and difficulties in waste disposal, many countries have tried to introduce EPR policy and program to solve the afore-mentioned problems. It has been proved that EPR policy played a significant role in waste disposal, which helps to realize the objectives of waste reduction and environmental-friendly treatment as well as internalization of social cost in waste disposal. Afterwards, EPR policy has been incorporated into the model of Circular Economy and helped to achieve the aims of waste management, clean production and resource better utilization, which are pursued by Circular Economy.EPR practice towards successful environment protection has set a good example for China to follow and China shall learn from these countries useful experience through implementing EPR policy in environmental practice, since China also faces the serious situation of waste increase and environmental pollution .Currently, China has walked on the way of under Circular Economy, and as an indispensable part of Circular Economy, EPR policy has been paid more attention. It has been a subject to further study EPR policy on our theory circle. This dissertation studies and discusses EPR system under the perspective of environmental law.This dissertation can be divided into four sections. The first section gives a systematical outline of EPR and summarize its most important points ,which has been in shape on the board ,by focusing on its background ,theory development and practice effect; secondly ,it studies the legislation and practice of EPR ,in order to give some useful experience for our establishing EPR legislation and supporting system ;thirdly, it gives a specific example through introduce a producer who takes the extended responsibility for its product on the implementation of EPR; fourthly, it analyzes the legislation pattern ,the content of responsibility and incentives as well as the potential obstacles ,on the basis of currently and emerging environmental legislation and system.