Producer responsibility in a sustainable development context: ecological modernisation or industrial ecology?

The concept of producer responsibility has become a major tenet of EU waste management policy. It forms part of an effort to set a regulatory context for firms supportive of sustainable development. Two contrasting notions of the theory and implementation of sustainable development are ecological modernisation and industrial ecology. Ecological modernisation emphasises economic development and technological advances, within a suitable policy framework. Industrial ecology, by contrast, emphasises inter-firm cooperation and voluntary compliance inspired by eco-efficiency savings. Recently, however, industrial ecologists have shown greater interest in the potential for policy implementation. With aims such as increasing recovery of value from waste, creating a demand for recycled materials, and decreasing the potential harmful effects of waste, the producer responsibility directives can be seen as attempts to implement industrial ecology principles. This paper examines interrelationships of ecological modernisation and industrial ecology to understand the potential and shortcomings of the producer responsibility regulations as a means to promote waste minimisation through eco-design.