Waste not, want not
A number of international and national regulations now state that producers have to be held accountable for the amount and toxicity of the waste they produce. However, even though this principle of ‘polluter-pays’ started a few decades ago, the price of many products, like computers, still does not include the full cost of recycling and disposal. As an alternative, some businesses and governments (mostly in developed countries) are moving to ‘clean production’ and eco-design principles. These include the intelligent use of raw materials and steering production towards the use of durable non-toxic components that are easy to reuse, remanufacture, or recycle.
Zero waste initiatives are also gathering speed. The idea of zero waste is based on the belief that all discarded materials have resource potential (and hence they are not really waste). This approach looks for alternatives to incineration and landfills. Some countries, like New Zealand, are promoting zero waste in their economic development agenda - building on their image as an exporter of clean green products (zero waste, NZ).