1. Every day we each
use
hundreds
of products
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2. Many of these
products – and
their packaging –
impact the
environment and
health in
unintended ways
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3. Many goods are designed to be obsolete
in just a few years.
there is no cost to
business to continue to
throw away more and
more material
there are no incentives
to create products that
last longer or are
more easily recycled
Under the current system there is a lack of
incentive to design better products
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4. For one thing, this results in a lot
of stuff…
…each American throws away about
1,600 pounds of trash every year, much of it
products and packaging!
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5. When we dispose of materials, instead of recycling them, we need
to extract more virgin resources to make new products…which
consumes energy and can cause other environmental impacts.
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6. Some products contain toxic substances
that can be released to the environment
in the waste stream…
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7. Some products are associated
.
with other unintended
impacts…such as drug abuse or
hazards to workers…
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8. Still other
products may
pose operational
challenges in the
waste stream.
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9. Today, we look to local
governments to manage this
increasingly complex waste
stream…

10. This costs money!
In 2009, Nebraska spent an estimated
$2 million tax dollars to manage
household hazardous waste…
…and they weren’t able
to collect all the
problematic product &
packaging waste that
was out there.
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11. Government and
taxpayers
can’t
solve this
problem
alone…
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12. The Solution
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13. Where do we go from here?
Product stewardship directs all
those involved in the life cycle of a product
to take responsibility for the impacts to
human health and the natural environment
that result from the production, use, and
end-of-life management of the product.
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14. While
everyone
has a role
to play,
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15. product stewardship asks those who,
Design Make & Sell
the products to take the greatest
responsibility Prepared by the Product Stewardship Institute

16. This responsibility extends
beyond the point of sale,
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17. When
manufacturers set
up and pay for
collection
programs,
this is called
“extended
producer
responsibility”
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18. Extended Producer
Responsibility
• creates more opportunities for
collection,
• shifts the burden of collecting
products off of local governments, and
• provides an incentive for
manufacturers to design products that
are easier to recycle (or have fewer
impacts in the first place)
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19. “EPR” is already happening
through several mandatory &
voluntary initiatives:
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20. Some states are passing laws to
require manufacturers to collect their
products As of December 2011,
there are more
than 60 state
laws mandating
EPR
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21. In addition to EPR, there are a number of other
product stewardship strategies that can be
implemented along the way…
• Retailers, government, and other organizations can
collect products for recycling or safe disposal to create
product stewardship infrastructure
• We can maximize the use of the voluntary EPR
programs that exist today
• Consumers and government agencies can choose to
purchase greener products
• Businesses can develop and promote greener
products
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22. Click below to learn about
more about to learn more
about things that we can all
do to promote product
stewardship
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