Certain types of products such as packaging, electrical devices and cars are made of plastic in whole or in part, and at some point become waste. In the interest of recovering these plastics, various regulations of producer responsibility have been enacted with the goal of ensuring that these materials are optimally recycled.
Packaging is part of everyday life and serves a useful purpose. But there’s also a serious downside to packaging, as evidenced by the 16,6 million tons of it that were generated in Germany in 2012 alone. What can we do to mitigate this type of environmental impact? Which laws are already on the books in this regard, and what actions can we take as individuals?
Under waste management law, manufacturers are required to assume responsibility for any product that engenders waste, particularly when it comes to taking products back and recycling them. Such stewardship is meant to encourage manufacturers to prevent waste already during the product design and manufacturing phases, and to ensure that end-of-life products can be recycled.
When it comes to collecting, sorting and transporting waste, a distinction is made between systematic and systemless approaches. The kirbside collection of bundled waste paper is an example of the latter. On the other hand various container systems are used for waste collection. Whereas residual waste is collected in gray containers, separate collection systems are used for a range of waste.
