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Systems Analysis as an Industry Tool to Implement Extended Product Responsibility Policy

Hilary Grimes
Environmental Engineering
Industrial Cohort: Xerox

Extended Product Responsibility is receiving considerable attention in academia, industry and government as the most "reasonable" of proposed policies for sustainable production in a capitalist, industry-driven market. In order to promote voluntary EPR to the degree desired in the US, tools must be provided and their success demonstrated to achieve optimal implementation of responsibility practices. A tool based on systems optimization to inform decisions (identify the system and constraints, establish objective, create and solve the model, make decisions and evaluate) seems the best fit to the stages proposed by the EPA Office of Solid Waste in 1999 as necessary to build an EPR policy: identifying appropriate product systems and players; identifying existing problems in product reuse/recycle; establishing goals and assessing options; measuring progress towards goal achievement; and providing assistance to meet goals through education, tools, research, technical assistance, and demonstrations (Cotsworth, 1999).