Reduce, Reuse, RECONSIDER: It's Time to Throw Out Old Habits

     PART THREE: What About Eurasia?

 After learning of the history of recycling and clearing up some of the primary causes and initiatives for the nationwide catapult into environmentalism, we’ve also taken some time to look into the actual efficiency of some of our most common recyclables, including aluminum cans, plastic water bottles, glass, and paper. The saved energy, although varied, with the recycling of each of these products all proved to be beneficial, although there is advancement needed (and coming along!) for the recycling of our more dense and complicated materials (Fact Sheet: Recycling the Hard Stuff).

            Now, let’s take a 180 & turn our views over to the other side of the world: Eurasia. Having civilized centuries before us, it wouldn’t be far off to assume that our overseas counterparts may have technologies in place that we haven’t yet come to. Or would the global industrial revolution for both Eurasia and United States aid us in keeping up to par?

Japan, on the other hand, can’t be similarly grouped with the long-lived industrial societies of Europe and Asia. Having isolated its nation from outside contact for nearly twenty years, catching up with the ever-developing societies of the world could not have been easy. Yet, today, Japan remains one of the most prosperous industrial nations in the world, and, more importantly, one of the most environmentally efficient.

Being just a little bit smaller than the state of Montana, the self-sustaining society of Japan was forced to check into environmentally-friendly regulations a long time ago, being that there wasn’t much room in their country for waste. One of their most solid and productive policies is the Home Appliance Recycling Law, which requires manufacturers and importers to take responsibility for the recycling of their own products, including televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, and washing machines (Electronic Appliance Recycling in Japan). With this regulation, residents pay a small recycling fee with the return of their purchases to a designated facility, with prices ranging from 18 to 38 dollars, depending on the size of the item. This price doesn’t mean much when you compare it to the numbers of years it can aid us in preserving our planet. Within this law is also a Separation Collection policy, requiring that with each sale of an item, that consumer must return a product purchased before. Similar requirements for electronics are in place in Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Norway, as this necessity is completely logical, and convenient for consumers. Want to upgrade to a new washing machine because your old one keeps breaking down? Easily rid of it while shopping for your new one!

Japan also has a Containers and Packaging Recycling Law, to enforce, within businesses, the process of waste separation, waste collection, and the recycling of their own created surplus (Containers and Packaging Recycling Law). Japan’s Food Recycling Law encourages food-related establishments to “reduce the generation of food waste during production in order to implement recycling methods and promote heat recovery and weight reduction (Marra, Federica).” In 2010, this law had Japan recycling 82% of its food waste; not only is our Pacific neighbor working outside of the box by taking an alternate recycling aspect with our chow, the results are fantastic. Lastly, Japan was also dominantly related to the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement correlated with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Kyoto Protocol set “internationally binding emission reduction targets,” and is now on its second stage of the commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to at least 18% lower than the levels they were in 1990.

On the other side of Eurasia, Germany has crucially prominent recycling rates as well. The European Union celebrated Germany’s landfill additions being close to nothing in 2010, as 45% of municipal waste was recycling, 17% composted, and 38% burned (Birkenstock, Günther). The Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act was a huge contribution to this effort. Passed in 1996, this law enacts three strategies for productions to eliminate waste. First, waste avoidance is looked into with the abolishment of superfluous manufacturing and packaging. Then, what cannot be avoided is recycled or converted into energy, and the remainder after that process is disposed of in an environmentally safe way (Trash Planet: Germany).

Another recycling management policy in Germany is the Packaging Ordinance, requiring manufacturers to collect and then reuse or recycling the remainders of their products after disposed of. Since this regulation was put in place in 1991, persisting difficulties led to the creation of the non-profit organization of Duales System Deutschland (DSD) (Trash Planet: Germany). This organization created the “Green Dot” Trademark, and provided a way for industries to easily ensure that their products are recycled. Manufacturers pay to join DSD and are then allowed to print a green dot on all of their packaging. The more packaging, the more the businesses pay. Packaging with “Der Grüne Punkt” is guaranteed acceptance into all recycling factories, and DSD actually exists throughout 25 European countries. These recycling efforts not only condensed landfill waste, but avoided 1.8 million tons of CO2 emissions in 2008.

As you can see, Germany, Japan, and much of the land in between them have been making large advancements in their environmentally efficient cultures. From cracking down on the manufacturers, to having full cooperation from their constituents, the governments of these nations have reached high heights and are looking to go even further. The described policies are all regulations that the United States can and should implement, let alone surpass, with us being the worldwide “superpower.” What’s keeping us so far behind? Sounds more like it’s time to reduce, reuse, and readapt.

WORKS CITED

Birkenstock, Günther. "EU Praises German Recycling Measures." DW.DE. Deutsche Welle (DW), 23 Apr. 2013. Web. 11 May 2014. http://www.dw.de/eu-praises-german-recycling-measures/a-15905414.

"Containers and Packaging Recycling Law." METI Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. METI Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, n.d. Web. 11 May 2014. http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/recycle/main/english/law/contain.html.

"Electronic Appliance Recycling in Japan." Www.informinc.org. INFORM, Inc., Nov. 2003. Web. 11 May 2014. http://www.informinc.org/fact_JapanEPR.pdf.

“Fact Sheet: Recycling the Hard Stuff." Www.epa.gov. US Environmental Protection Agency, July 2002. Web. 11 May 2014. http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/ghg/f02023.pdf.

Look, Marie. "Trash Planet: Germany." Earth911: More Ideas, Less Waste. Earth911, 13 July 2009. Web. 11 May 2014. http://www.earth911.com/earth-watch/trash-planet-germany/.

Marra, Federica. "Food Waste in Japan: How Eco-towns and Recycling Loops Are Encouraging Self-Sufficiency." Food Tank RSS. Food Tank, 23 Nov. 2003. Web. 11 May 2014. http://foodtank.com/news/2013/11/food-waste-in-japan-how-eco-towns-and-recycling-loops-are-encouraging-self.