Dive summary:
- A new report released by As You Sow, a nonprofit organization that promotes corporate responsibility, found that in 2010, $11.4 billion worth of recyclable material was sent to landfills.
- The study showed that 40% of American trash comes from packaging, most of which can be recycled.
- This is not only a problem for landfills and the environment but for taxpayers, who pay for the material to be disposed of rather than having manufactures pay part of the cost as at least 47 other countries do.
From the article:
At least 47 countries require producers to bear some or all of the cost of end-of-life packaging management, which in the U.S. has always been paid for by taxpayers. The report profiles successful implementations of EPR for packaging in Europe and Canada, and in the U.S. for product categories including batteries, paint, pesticide containers, and electronics - but not packaging.
The report outlines why companies should take responsibility for post-consumer packaging as part of their ongoing sustainability policies. Indeed, packaging represents the next great opportunity for producer responsibility because raw materials, such as the petroleum, minerals, and fiber used to make much consumer packaging, are projected to become increasingly scarce. ...
