For firms to face a meaningful incentive for waste-reducing innovation in product design, the costs bome by each producer participating in the scheme would need to be very accurately related to the waste management costs generated by its own products. Most schemes in international practice involve simple cost-sharing rules between firms, and these do not provide strong incentives for waste-reducing product innovation. This flexibility can reduce the burden on producers, but it also means there is a greater risk that the policy could fail to achieve the intended outcomes. For this reason, it is essential that policy design start from a clear assessment of the objectives of the policy and the elements needed to ensure their achievement.