INSTITUTIONALIZING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY: A POLICY PROCESS ANALYSIS OF THE PHILIPPINE EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY (EPR) ACT
Abstract
The Philippines faces a critical plastic pollution crisis, compounded by historical implementation gaps within traditional decentralized waste management frameworks. This study provides a comprehensive policy process analysis of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022 (Republic Act No. 11898) during its initial institutionalization phase from 2022 to 2026. Employing a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, the research evaluates compliance data from the National Ecology Center alongside qualitative insights from semi-structured interviews with twenty key stakeholders using the Multiple Streams and Advocacy Coalition Frameworks. Quantitative results indicate that the Philippines achieved a 55.98% national plastic diversion rate in 2025, significantly exceeding the mandated 40% target across 1,017 registered entities. Multiple regression analysis identifies stakeholder collaboration within industry-led Producer Responsibility Organizations as the most potent predictor of institutionalization success, outweighing the influence of legislative penalties. However, a significant "circularity gap" persists, with 82% of obliged enterprises prioritizing downstream recovery methods, such as co-processing, over upstream product redesign and refillable systems. The findings suggest that while the EPR Act has successfully shifted accountability to the private sector and translated policy into measurable change, achieving the 80% recovery target by 2028 requires stronger incentives for design-phase interventions and the formal integration of the informal waste sector. This study contributes to environmental governance literature by elucidating the complexities of transitioning from linear to circular systems within an emerging economy context.
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