Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a key concept in sustainable development that is changing the way environmental consequences are addressed throughout product lifecycles. This policy approach includes resource efficiency and sustainable product design in addition to trash handling, as it returns the onus of post-consumer waste management from consumers and municipalities to producers. It represents a major step in the direction of integrating the concepts of the circular economy into patterns of production and consumption.

The fundamental economic notion of product responsibility is altered by Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). The economic model for the lifecycle of a product has historically been slightly skewed: while manufacturers and retailers profit financially from the sale of goods, the environment, society, and government agencies bear the majority of the burden and expense of product disposal.

Because there is little incentive for producers to think about the environmental impact and end-of-life management of their products, this paradigm has frequently resulted in unsustainable practices.