Peace and Environment News* June 1995
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Peace and Environment News * June 1995 |
Germany, Garbage and the Green Dot: Challenging the Throwaway Society.
By Bette K. Fishbein
INFORM, 1994
$25 U.S.
Reviewed by Mike Kaulbars
Der Grüne Punkt, the German title for this book, is a fascinating in-depth study of policy approaches to waste issues. As she explains in chapter one, Fishbein has looked at Germany not so much as a model to be copied, but as a case study to be learned from. Some of the initiatives taken in Germany have not worked that well, and hence should not be copied. Others are culturally or socially specific and would not work as well here in North America. Nonetheless Germany is one of the few industrialized nations to have made any serious attempt to deal with its waste problems, and its efforts deserve attention, particularly given how successful the program has been. For example, in a single year of economic growth, packaging waste declined 4 percent. On a national scale that is a huge amount of garbage.
Overall, the book attempts to compare and contrast different policy initiatives and approaches to the waste problem. By examining different sectors and times, Fishbein is able to discuss the pros and cons of carrot or stick approaches and making waste a public or industry responsibility, and to rate the successes of national versus local initiatives. Fishbein devotes an entire section of chapter two to re-emphasizing her warning that it is difficult to make international comparisons.
The scope and thoroughness of the book is impressive, covering such issues as transport packaging, secondary packaging, primary packaging and dual system, refillable beverage containers, plastics as waste, recycling and reuse potential, waste avoidance, and the difficulties of creating a waste management strategy within the context of a global market that actively opposes such initiatives.
Some of the basic lessons learned in Germany include: i) industry incentives work better than regulation, but both are required for any initiative to work, ii) recycling capacity can easily be overloaded with the massive volume of waste that we produce, so it is necessary to ensure adequate recycling capacity as recycling of wastes is phased in, iii) monitoring of industry compliance is necessary, as well as mechanisms to ensure compliance. Most industries are willing to comply, but if some are able to "cheat" and thereby be more profitable, it creates an incentive for everyone to cheat. iv) flexible and dynamic fee structures, whether taxation or Quantity Based User Fees, are necessary for any program to be both economically viable and competitive.
I would have appreciated more graphic presentation of some of the information. Certainly there is quite a bit of data which could have been presented in chart or graph form, thereby giving one a better feel for the impacts and effects of the various initiatives.
I also felt Fishbein is too careful about not making comparisons and recommendations for North America. Chapter 13, "Implications of the German Approach for U.S. Waste Policy," does explore this to some extent, but I would have liked to see more. Her caveats are appropriate and appreciated, but having made them, why not speculate on the probable impact of similar initiatives in North America and note areas where the cultural differences are likely to be particularly problematic?
The book is an invaluable tool for those working on waste issues, whether as professionals playing a role in an institution, or as activists. Some of the results achieved in Germany are very impressive. For example, the adoption of Quantity Based User Fees led to a 50 percent reduction in household waste. Fantastic! Here in North America people in thousands of communities are wringing their hands over overflowing landfill sites. In the Capital region alone, communities from Balderson to Point Gatineau to St Eugene are caught up in bitter fights over proposed landfills or incinerators. All of this agonizing when one small policy change can cut the problem in half. Granted it doesn't solve the problem, but a 50 percent reduction would sure help.
We do need to adopt many of these policies, or similar ones, and soon. To make that happen we need a lot more people to be aware of what can be done, and demanding that it be done. To achieve that, people need to read this book. So do it.
Converted July 7, 2000 - Lg
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