Extended Producer Responsibility Policies and Procedures Across U.S. States
Project Partner: Resources for the Future, Summer 2025
Project Summary: Plastic pollution is a global issue that impacts every living thing on Earth due to its ubiquitous nature. Plastics have extensive negative impacts on environmental and human health, due to both their physical presence and their chemical degradation. There are several possible policy options that have been implemented to reduce the amount of plastic in the environment: bag taxes and bans, Styrofoam bans, container deposit systems, and, more recently, extended producer responsibility policies (EPR).
Through her internship with Resources for the Future, Shalom examined EPR policies intended to reduce plastic pollution at the point of entrance to the environment by promoting a circular economy. Shalom used this research to develop an issue brief which will be useful both for legislators who want to implement similar policies in their jurisdictions, and for the constituents in states where these policies already exist. By working with Resources for the Future, Shalom was able to build upon her existing knowledge of the policy process, consideration of stakeholder interests, and extensive understanding of the environmental impacts of plastics, to further understand the economic and social impacts of EPR policies. To continue this project, a recommended next step would be defining inputs for a model to estimate the change in plastic pollution after these policies are enforced, in order to support current practices or assist in refining the policies.
Project Deliverables:
- Issue brief outlining the goals and programming of existing Extended Producer Responsibility policies and their expected economic and environmental impacts
- Explainer accompanying the issue brief to review the needs and goals of current legislation in the U.S. restricting single use plastic usage
Watch Shalom’s URBAN Internship Lightning Talk here.