Estimating the Impact of Tradeoffs in US EPRP Rulemaking Scenarios
Grantees: Cindy Isenhour and Erin Victor, Anthropology & Climate Change Institute, UMaine, Jean MacRae, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UMaine, Jonathan Rubin, Economics & Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, UMaine, Michael Haedicke, Sociology, UMaine, Reed Miller, Industrial Ecology, UMaine
Budget: $197,800
Project Duration: 2 years
As Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (EPRP) programs expand across the U.S., policymakers face critical decisions about how to define recycling, set fees, and measure success. This EREF-funded research analyzes how different EPRP rulemaking scenarios influence environmental, economic, and social outcomes. Focusing on plastic packaging in the personal care sector, the study models the impacts of six policy designs using life cycle assessment and economic modeling. The goal is to identify rule structures that not only fund waste management but also incentivize sustainable packaging redesign and harmonize policy across states.