Beyond Plastics: Shifting the Waste Reduction Burden From Consumers to Producers
By Christopher Marquis | June 27, 2022 | Forbes
Since moving to England a few months ago, I’ve noticed the use of more stringent policies for the disposal of waste — be it cardboard, plastic, or other materials. Europe has been a pioneer in requiring companies to pay for recycling programs, which first took shape around 1990 in Sweden.
One of these programs, known as extended producer responsibility or EPR, basically requires companies to cover the costs of recycling programs. In Germany — where the recycling rate is among the highest in the world — waste sorting is serious business, and people can face fines for breaking the rules. As other countries see success with waste management legislation, EPR bills have emerged in recent years in legislatures across the United States, with Maine, Oregon, and Colorado as early adopters. While these new laws appear to be a step forward in reducing environmental impact, they face challenges from environmental advocates and others who say they fall short of what’s needed and actually are taking aim at the wrong issue.
Judith Enck is one of those who believes most current EPR bills aren’t enough. Instead, she wants to reduce the production and use of plastic packaging and founded an organization called Beyond Plastics to advocate for this systemic change. “I think we can do a whole lot better than getting money to pay for plastics recycling, which we’ve learned does virtually nothing to actually solve the plastic problem,” she told me. “The European Union has had an EPR for packaging directive in place for years. But when we talked with people in Europe, we realized that while it was good to get the funding for recycling, it didn’t do anything to actually help with plastic reduction, so to speak. Plastic reduction is where our focus needs to be; not just on recycling.
Through Beyond Plastics, Enck and others are working to ensure that EPR bills incorporate specific reduction requirements and standards for recycled content — steps to avoid what she calls “unsustainable waste disposal.” One of the biggest challenges for Beyond Plastics is communicating the issue and the solution, and shifting the burden from consumers to the companies that create the products. During our recent conversation, she shared what she and Beyond Plastics are doing to spread the word and advocate for long-term solutions.
