Table 1 Examples of progress in 3Rs-related efforts in the G8 member countries and by the European Commission

Canada	·Waste diversion (recycling and composting) per capita has improved by 24% from 2000 to 2004.·Implementing Green Procurement at Federal and Provincial levels and Extended Producers Responsibility programs for specific waste streams.·Contributed internationally to the development of guidelines for environmentally sound waste management under OECD.·The link between recycling, energy efficiency and reduced GHG emissions has been established and work in this area continues.
European Commission	·Thematic strategy on the prevention and recycling of waste (2005),·Thematic strategy on the sustainable use of natural resources (2005)·Revision of the WEEE and RoHS directives (2008) and a target setting for the ELV directive.·Established an international panel on sustainable resource management together with UNEP.·Proposal for a revised Waste Framework Directive.·Proposal for an Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy.
France	·National plan for waste prevention (2004).·Implemented various awareness campaigns.·In addition to the implementation of recycling related regulations of EU, France applied EPR to waste tires (2004) and Unsolicited Flyer (2007).·“Grenelle de l’Environnement”:·reduction of waste production of 5 kg/inhabitant/year each year during five years;·increase of recycling rates (e.g. organic matter recovery).·Development of sustainable production and consumption (through economic tools such as bonus/malus) and enhanced producer’s responsibility (on households hazardous waste, on pieces of furniture).
Germany	·Started introduction of extended producer responsibility in 1988 and later included it in the Act for Promoting Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management and Ensuring Environmentally Compatible Waste Disposal.·Through the introduction of various recycling laws, the utilisation of municipal waste as resources increased from 13 % in 1990 to 58% in 2006.·Banned landfilling of waste without intermediate treatment.·Developed successful incentives for recycling and recycling through internalization of external costs by implementation of high environmental and technical standards.·Reduction of GHGs from the waste management sector would account for 10 % of Germany’s Kyoto Protocol target.·Set a target to double resource productivity by 2020 compared to 1994
Italy	·Set national targets for separated collection of urban solid waste of 50% by the end of 2009 and 60% by the end of 2011.·Achieve 25% reduction of Total Material Requirement (TMR) by 2020, 50% by 2030, and 90% by 2050.·Actively introducing various market instruments under a new financial law in 2007. Also, Italy is utilising environmental indicators and targets including those of waste generation and management for distribution of a part of EU structural funds.·Created new markets for materials through the Recycling Consortia forpackaging (glass, plastic, wood, paper, steel, aluminium), exhausted oilsbatteries, under industrial management & responsibility (CONAI system).
Japan	·Japan has a fundamental law (framework) and plan (implementation plan) for establishing a sound material-cycle society. In the fundamental plan, Japan sets targets to be achieved by 2015 for resource productivity [JPY 420,000/ton, GDP/Direct Material Input (DMI)], the cyclical use