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I agree that more can be done to increase incentives for manufacturers to produce better packaging. I would caution against outright bans, as that often exacerb

I agree that more can be done to increase incentives for manufacturers to produce better packaging. I would caution against outright bans, as that often exacerbates unforeseen circumstances. You might end up encouraging massive deforestation as manufacturers switch en mass to bamboo packaging or suddenly roads are clogged up as truck drivers are told to maintain a maximum 30kph to avoid damaging products. Human systems are ridiculously complex, that was the chief failure of state-directed Communism. > I don't get to choose how the stuff I buy is packaged I think an economist would say you do get to choose. You could have chosen a different product that was packaged better. Since the onus is on you to sort out the packaging, you should have incentive to prefer products with packaging that you don't have to manage.

toyg 11y ago
> I think an economist would say you do get to choose. You could have chosen a different product that was packaged better It's been proven over and over again that "market-based responses" to environmental issues simply do not work: there will always be a critical mass of consumers who simply won't care. You end up trading the long-term future of our planet for immediate convenience, just because as human animals we are simply terrible at judging things in the long term.
daviross 11y ago
I think an economist would say you do get to choose. You could have chosen a different product that was packaged better. Since the onus is on you to sort out the packaging, you should have incentive to prefer products with packaging that you don't have to manage. That's all well and good until all of the products in X category have the same packaging. Then there's no way to provide a market signal. (Plus that concept ignores all nuance. Either something is the Biggest Deciding Factor Ever, or it gets lost in the mix. And even if it is the primary deciding factor, there's no way of going "The reason I didn't go with you was because of your packaging, rather than your price/functionality/willingness-to-spy/tantalum use." and the result would at-best get confused for something else.

toyg 11y ago

> I think an economist would say you do get to choose. You could have chosen a different product that was packaged better It's been proven over and over again that "market-based responses" to environmental issues simply do not work: there will always be a critical mass of consumers who simply won't care. You end up trading the long-term future of our planet for immediate convenience, just because as human animals we are simply terrible at judging things in the long term.

daviross 11y ago

I think an economist would say you do get to choose. You could have chosen a different product that was packaged better. Since the onus is on you to sort out the packaging, you should have incentive to prefer products with packaging that you don't have to manage. That's all well and good until all of the products in X category have the same packaging. Then there's no way to provide a market signal. (Plus that concept ignores all nuance. Either something is the Biggest Deciding Factor Ever, or it gets lost in the mix. And even if it is the primary deciding factor, there's no way of going "The reason I didn't go with you was because of your packaging, rather than your price/functionality/willingness-to-spy/tantalum use." and the result would at-best get confused for something else.