This report critically analyses the enabling conditions for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in Pakistan. EPR is a globally recognised policy tool that shifts the financial and operational burden of waste management from the public sector to producers, incentivising sustainable product design and recycling. The study identifies substantial gaps in Pakistan’s regulatory, institutional, and market landscape that hinder effective EPR implementation. Despite several provincial-level initiatives, such as Punjab’s 2023 EPR regulations for plastics, Pakistan still lacks a cohesive national EPR framework. Municipalities remain burdened with high waste management costs, ranging from PKR 7,000 to PKR 23,000 per metric tonne, without corresponding investment in recycling infrastructure or formalised support for the informal waste sector.
