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Whatever the acronym, seems like you've got to focus on who in the supply/demand chain has the leverage to actually change something. Does consumer behavior matter? Sure. But consumers are fragmented groups of people who influence materials at only two points: what they buy, and how they dispose of it. Their influence at these points as individuals is infinitesimal. In the aggregate, they can be powerful, but need to have a combination of good information (does their packaging contain something hazardous?), good options (an easy alternative to mixing batteries in with their trash), and incentives (the cleaner product is less expensive to buy/dispose) in order to collectively trigger changes in materials use. In many situations, the most efficient way is to hit the producer (since they can most easily modify product formulation) or the municipality (since they can modify disposal options for populations of people, or some combination. Consumer behavior/options change as a result, even if they are not targeted targeted directly. While it may not be the beverage manufacturer's fault if somebody dumps their beer can on the road (as Michele points out), there is a much higher liklihood of it getting picked up if there is a deposit on it. Relying on a policy to educate consumers to be more careful about what they buy and how they throw it out seems a poor bet without supporting policies at the supplier and municipal level. -Doug Koplow _______________________________ Doug Koplow Earth Track, Inc. 2067 Massachusetts Avenue - 4th Floor Cambridge, MA 02140 www.earthtrack.net Tel: 617/661-4700 Fax: 617/354-0463 CONFIDENTIAL This message, and all attachments thereto, is covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C., Sections 2510-2521. This message is CONFIDENTIAL. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, then any retention, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. Please notify me if you received this message in error at koplow@no.address, and then delete it. >>> "Eric Lombardi" <eric@no.address> 06/28/04 11:28AM >>> Your email triggered an idea... the concept of "ECR" (extended consumer responsibility) to go along with "EPR" (extended producer responsibility) ... the bottom line for both being the "extension" of our thoughts, actions and responsibilities so that the end-of-life management of our personal/business discards is factored into our purchasing behavior. Good idea... bad idea...??? Eric Lombardi Executive Director Eco-Cycle, Inc -----Original Message----- From: Bob Armantrout [mailto:troutsfarm@no.address] Sent: Sunday, June 27, 2004 3:11 PM To: greenyes@no.address Subject: Re: [greenyes] Bans Jeffrey Morris <jeff.morris@no.address> wrote: "That's my hope for eventually getting rid of both landfills and incinerators as we aim for zerowaste." We agree with these concepts wholeheartedly! My wife and I practice zerowaste at home and this is precisely how we do it. We find that by keeping our waste source-separated, we have very few disposal issues in terms of mess, hassle, or pests. First (and most important) - We are careful in our buying habits (ECR - Excessive Consumer Responsibility) We know that anything we don't bring into the house won't need to be dispositioned when we're done with it. We buy much in bulk, flour, sugar, spices, etc. We only buy food that comes in glass, aluminum or compostable paper or cardboard - period. We buy our produce at the weekly farmers market or the organic food store - no lettuce in plastic bags! Second - We have a covered, 2 gallon, indoor compost bucket that feeds our outdoor pile that we empty at least daily. To this we add paper towels, small cardboard, food scraps, beer-making tailings, etc. We also add the bathroom wastebasket where tissue we use to blow our noses goes. Third - We stage our recycling under the sink in a small kitchen can - rinsed bottles, steel cans, and aluminum cans. We won't buy anything in plastic - not drinks, cooking oil, jam, or ketchup - period. Since we rinse everything promptly when we empty them, this bin can get emptied weekly without a problem, no ants or anything else.. We take the material down to our local recycling center on the way to work about once a week. Finally, we end up with well less than one cubic foot of landfill per week. It consists mostly or interior packing from boxed or frozen goods - little plastic wrappers, bottle tops, foil packages and the like. We have been following this regimen for the last three years and actually found that our shopping and cooking became much easier, due to the simplicity of the ingredients we buy. Most people think that being responsible for their own consumption patterns and waste is something that is hard and should therefore be mandated by their local government. We encourage others through demonstration to try some of these techniques and see how simple, and rewarding personal waste management can be. Here's a link to a photo-essay we compiled when we started this in April 2002, we have refined our methods as we've gone along and it just keeps getting easier! http://www.troutsfarm.com/ZeroWasteindex.htm Bob & Camille Armantrout --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers! |
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