Waste: bring it into the economy in order to exclude it from nature
Throughout the last 20 or 30 years, the main economic powers have tried to create structures and legal frameworks across Europe, the world, regionally…(Summits, Protocols, Congresses, etc.) with which to define and seek solutions to stop the impact of waste generation on the planet: in landfills (controlled and uncontrolled), in black spots, in the oceans,and in the streets.
However, environmental logic does not appear to be the most effective weapon in watching over the health of our planet. The lack or resources, the impoverishment of fossil fuels, the extinction of some species…nothing is important enough to stop the impact of human activity…except money. It seems that our global conscience as a species is not strong enough.
To give an example: Why does Germany have the highest rate of bottle recycling in the EU? Because by returning a bottle, the State gives you 0.25 Euro. Is there any other country with the same system which has deficient levels of recycling? It is certain that we will not find one. Money creates a reaction, and quickly. Is it possible to implement the German model in other countries? No, because not all countries are prepared to implement a system which has costs associated with this return. The cultural factor is important. But beyond putting it into practice, whether possible or not, let us ponder the theory: the introduction of an economic factor (the return of money) has led to Germany being a model.
Could we create structures which allow us to save the planet from an economic perspective? Perhaps this would be the only real or truly efficient solution; a reality which would have the support of the agents of power. Business leaders, governors, institutions…we must begin to understand that by burying waste we are burying money, and by opting for systems which dig up this waste and reintroduce it into the economic cycle we finally exclude it from nature. It is possible that those countries which understand that the ‘x’ in the recycling equation represents Euros, Dollars, Pounds…hold the key to the future of our planet. Let us stop imposing limits and measures which are very difficult for us to achieve, and create more and better made-to-measure solutions.
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