Europe - Recycle Your Mercedes
On the heels of a European Union law requiring that all cars made in Europe must be taken back free of charge by their makers (with 85% being reused or recycled), Mercedes is leading the pack. The company has created a process where their cars can be dismantled for recycling in just four hours. By reusing the recovered materials, Mercedes is saving manufacturing costs and reducing their burden on the earth’s natural resources.

Sweden - More of a Good Thing
First they required manufacturers to take back products for reuse and recycling, now Sweden is getting tough on landfills. The environmental agency there is recommending a $40 per ton tax on dumping in a landfill. The current $25 tax has been so successful at cutting landfill waste that a higher tax is expected to cut waste even more. Colorado’s fee, by contrast, is less than $1 per ton and is earmarked for cleaning up Superfund sites such as leaky landfills. Compared to the rest of the country, Colorado is one of the states that is committing the least amount of money for waste reduction measures. In Alameda County, California, by comparison, the $6 charge for each ton of waste generated goes towards proactive waste reduction measures like recycling.

California - First It Was Hula Hoops, Now it’s Zero Waste
Some say California is where it all starts. Remember hula hoops? Well, now it’s Zero Waste. Last November the state’s Waste Management Board adopted Zero Waste as one of its seven goals. For a state with 34 million people, that’s quite a goal! Now California will work with manufacturers to promote producer responsibility – an idea that gets companies involved in “take back” programs for the reuse and recycling of their products. California law prohibits residents from throwing away computer monitors and televisions due to their toxicity. This leaves cities scrambling to find funds to create recycling programs. Now, the electronics industry, government and the public will all be involved in finding solutions to the growing problem of electronic waste and food waste. The plan calls for “returning solid waste materials back into nature or the marketplace in a manner that protects human health and the environment.”

Berkeley - A Styrofoam®-Free City
The City of Berkeley isn’t fooled by manufacturers’ attempts to quell our fears about Styrofoam®. Although many Styrofoam® containers are labeled “CFC free,” they still contain chlorofluorocarbons. Because Styrofoam® production is still a hazard to the earth’s ozone layer and contributes to global warming, Berkeley is continuing to ban it in restaurants, fast food joints and City-sponsored events. But these users can’t replace the Styrofoam® with just anything – 50% of the new eating ware has to be either recyclable or biodegradable.

South Africa - Zero Waste
Citing Zero Waste as a necessary step in sustainable development, South Africa plans to get to Zero Waste by 2022. The announcement was made in September 2001 at the First National Waste Management Summit. The declaration said that product producers are responsible for the physical and financial problems posed by their waste, and that companies would be encouraged to manufacture more environmentally-friendly products.

Norway - Landfill Ban
It didn’t seem possible just a few years ago, but now some countries, such as Norway, are talking about banning landfills. Landfills are increasingly seen as an archaic way to manage discards because they destroy reusable resources. Bellona, an environmental group in Norway calling for the ban, also cites worries about global warming caused by methane gas produced by landfills, which escapes into the atmosphere despite the use of gas extraction systems (see related article on page 1). The Norwegian government is also concerned about methane, and has proposed banning food waste from landfills, (food waste produces methane when it decomposes). As a greenhouse gas, methane is very potent and can have 21 times the warming impact of carbon dioxide.