Today’s society is very dynamic and is
characterized by a high level of consumption. Consequently
transforming high-consuming cities into ‘‘zero
waste cities” is very difficult; however, by first transforming
high-consuming lifestyles into comparatively
sustainable levels of consumption, it can be done. Personal
behavior change has the potential to transform
our society from a high-consuming to a low-consuming
society. For instance, the introduction of an extended
producer responsibility system in Germany turned out
to be a costly and complex exercise and did not achieve
the desired collection rates, because they failed to mobilize
a change in attitudes and behavior. Frequently, a
lack of information and services presents barriers to
higher recycling rates.