Implementing Extended Producer Responsibility for Clean Water: Securing our water future, protecting consumers, and holding polluters accountable
WAREG has published its Common Position on the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) under the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD).
The revised Directive introduces, for the first time, an EPR scheme dedicated to financing quaternary wastewater treatment for the removal of harmful micropollutants. Under this mechanism, producers of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics are required to cover at least 80% of the costs necessary to meet the new environmental standards, including investment, operation and monitoring costs.
In its Common Position, adopted by the WAREG General Assembly on 17–18 June 2026 in Budapest, WAREG underlines that EPR implementation must reflect the specific characteristics of wastewater services. Water services are natural monopolies, based on long-term, capital-intensive infrastructure and public-service obligations. For this reason, WAREG calls for a transparent and well-regulated implementation model that avoids directly copying EPR schemes from the waste sector.
Economic regulators have a central role to play in ensuring that EPR implementation is efficient, transparent and fair. Their involvement can support investment scrutiny, cost eligibility, consumer protection and the integration of EPR-related revenues into tariff frameworks.
With Member States required to transpose the Directive by 31 July 2027, and Producer Responsibility Organisations to be established by the end of 2028, WAREG calls for early preparatory action to ensure that the new EPR scheme is implemented effectively, protects consumers, and holds polluters accountable.
Read the full WAREG Common Position here: