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Easy solution: require companies that produce waste products to also fashion a waste recovery arm. Force them to build externalities into their business models

Easy solution: require companies that produce waste products to also fashion a waste recovery arm. Force them to build externalities into their business models from the get go. I'm sure they'll figure out the most efficient way to manage it.

thekevan 10y ago
The article says they are recyclable but most localities don't do them, they have to be taken to the grocery store & deposited with bags. Why would you target every small business with this expense?
- azernik 10y ago
  The producer would be the manufacturer; the mandate could either fall directly on the manufacturer, or just require small businesses to arrange with the manufacturer for recycling.
  - djrogers 10y ago
    If the mandate fell on the manufacturer, do you think they'd just absorb the cost out of he goodness of their hearts?
    - dclowd9901 10y ago
      No, of course not. That's the entire point. The cost needs to be captured _somewhere_ in the private chain because right now it's just an externality that no public entity wants to deal with or can deal with.
  - dclowd9901 10y ago
    In my scenario, the manufacturer would have to either provide logistics for local disposal (seems ideal to me) or do their own service (that would be rough!). I imagine a cottage industry of recycle processing middle handlers would eventually lower the friction in this space.
MandieD 10y ago
Companies have to pre-pay their packaging disposal costs in Germany, either by making things deposit (bottles and some glass jars) or paying the costs outright (which gets them a little recycling symbol). Easy way to see the difference: yoghurt containers - fairly hefty plastic in the USA, almost eggshell-like plastic or deposit glass jars in Germany. Eggs come in cardboard, never styrofoam. The only common seriously durable, non-deposit packaging around here are glass bottles and metal cans, as both of those things are easy and profitable to sort and recycle.

thekevan 10y ago

The article says they are recyclable but most localities don't do them, they have to be taken to the grocery store & deposited with bags. Why would you target every small business with this expense?

azernik 10y ago
The producer would be the manufacturer; the mandate could either fall directly on the manufacturer, or just require small businesses to arrange with the manufacturer for recycling.
- djrogers 10y ago
  If the mandate fell on the manufacturer, do you think they'd just absorb the cost out of he goodness of their hearts?
  - dclowd9901 10y ago
    No, of course not. That's the entire point. The cost needs to be captured _somewhere_ in the private chain because right now it's just an externality that no public entity wants to deal with or can deal with.
- dclowd9901 10y ago
  In my scenario, the manufacturer would have to either provide logistics for local disposal (seems ideal to me) or do their own service (that would be rough!). I imagine a cottage industry of recycle processing middle handlers would eventually lower the friction in this space.

MandieD 10y ago

Companies have to pre-pay their packaging disposal costs in Germany, either by making things deposit (bottles and some glass jars) or paying the costs outright (which gets them a little recycling symbol). Easy way to see the difference: yoghurt containers - fairly hefty plastic in the USA, almost eggshell-like plastic or deposit glass jars in Germany. Eggs come in cardboard, never styrofoam. The only common seriously durable, non-deposit packaging around here are glass bottles and metal cans, as both of those things are easy and profitable to sort and recycle.