Imagine savings hundreds of dollars a year for being a typical consumer. Deals like that hardly present themselves to the typical American, yet people in many countries across the world are collecting on this opportunity. Confused as to what could possibly sound so great? Think there is a catch? Well, there may be, but not to the typical citizen.
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) could very well be the answer to the waste crisis that has shown its ugly self within the last century in the United States. With consumerism being bred into every individual in this society, waste is inevitable. Advances in technology have made the creation of plastics and other packaging supplies incredibly simple with very few ways to dispose of or recycle what is left. Embracing extended producer responsibility means putting the manufacturer in charge of the garbage the company is producing. Any packaging that is left after the product is gone would have to be taken care of by the producer. Since the burden of the cost would be applied to the big businesses, the incentive to lower those costs would be high. If the manufacturer of a product has to pay more to send the empty bottles or bags to the landfill or recycling center, that company would think of more environmentally friendly ways to package their products. Even if it is not for the benefit of the environment, but rather their pocketbooks, extended producer responsibility takes steps toward reducing the ridiculous amount of waste we Americans create.
Walking into a drugstore in Europe, you will see a plain aspirin bottle on the shelf. Heading down a medication isle in the United States, there would be a plethora of pain relievers all shoved with cotton, sealed on the top, adorned with a plastic band around the lid and complete with a large cardboard box. How can people possibly claim that waste is not a problem in this country?
Examining EPR is actually very difficult since very little information exists about it. Is that on purpose? Is the government afraid of the people grabbing ahold of this concept and running with it? As big business is the big brother to the government, something like this could ruin that relationship. How different would our lives be if the government started listening to the needs of the people instead of the needs of the select minority?
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"If the manufacturer of a product has to pay more to send the empty bottles or bags to the landfill or recycling center, that company would think of more environmentally friendly ways to package their products."
I'll have to do more research, but like most ways that consumers can influence sustainable business practices, I dig what I see so far. Thank you!
Sustainably yers, http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/green-underbelly