Extended Producer Responsibility in ASEAN: Policy Design, Stakeholder Dynamics, and Consumer Perspectives

Although extended producer responsibility (EPR) has become a central policy response to plastic pollution in Southeast Asia, its implementation across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remains highly diverse. This report examines EPR for plastic packaging in five ASEAN Member States. Chapters 2–6 present case studies of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam, covering schemes ranging from voluntary to mandatory. These studies analyse how each country’s institutional and socio-economic conditions influence the adoption, compliance, and effectiveness of EPR. They identify common challenges, including compliance being concentrated amongst large firms, the exclusion of the informal sector from EPR funding, a bias towards downstream activities in compliance strategies, and issues surrounding the governance of EPR funds. Chapter 7 presents a conjoint analysis involving 2,100 respondents in each country. The findings show that support for EPR declines linearly as household costs rise, although sensitivity varies by country. Respondents generally prefer funds to be allocated to upstream and midstream activities rather than downstream activities. The report concludes that consumer preferences should inform the design of effective EPR schemes.