PPI Blog: Resa Dimino - EPR is Good Business
Matt Prindiville
Highly recommended reading from former GrassRoots Recycling Network’s Board President, Resa Dimino.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
EPR is Good Business
By Resa A. Dimino
Resa A. Dimino is a consultant providing sustainable materials management policy and planning services. She serves on the board of directors of the New York Product Stewardship Council which was created to advocate for EPR in New York. To learn more about the New York Product Stewardship Council visit www.nypsc.org.
Many recycling and waste management stakeholders are embracing the new business opportunities and cost savings created by Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs. While EPR, also referred to as product stewardship, is a concern for some, it is a boon for local governments, recycling businesses, and the public. It’s also good in the long run for the companies that take life-cycle responsibility for their products, though some haven’t realized that yet.
Implementing EPR shifts our waste management system from one focused on government funded and ratepayer financed programs to one that develops manufacturer responsibility for managing products at the end of their useful lives. The intent is to encourage producers to improve design and promote environmental sustainability, increase recycling and reuse, and create green jobs.
Over the past twenty years, local governments and the waste management industry have invested millions to achieve dramatic increases in recycling rates. Municipalities across the country have accepted the challenge of implementing recycling laws and programs, even when markets were bad or non-existent. But as the complexity and diversity of the waste stream has grown, that challenge has become more of a burden. Solid waste managers are problem solvers by nature, but there comes a time when we all realize our limitations.
Local solid waste managers have gravitated to EPR policy not because they want to give up responsibility – indeed that is a difficult pill for many local waste managers to swallow—but because they realize that government cannot solve this particular set of problems alone...To read more, click here - http://productpolicy.blogspot.com/
| Matt Prindiville • Associate Director |
