He points out that Swedish car manufacturers have thrived while increasing the average lifespan of their vehicles from nine years to more than 17 years since the mid-1960s. By comparison, the average lifespan of a car in Britain is 11 to 12 years. Consume fewer products, use much less material in the products we do consume, keep things longer, make them to last. There are numerous ways consumer groups can inform their members and lobby their local and national leaders to encourage both more recycling and more reusing and reduction of waste. Because of the way tax subsidies work in some countries, new material is often cheaper than recycled material.
Consumer organisations have to press their governments to make using recycled goods profitable.
When costs go up, people react. Charging consumers by the amount of waste they generate rather than on a flat fee or through property or local taxes would provide a direct link between garbage and costs - the more rubbish, the higher the fees. Put pressure on manufacturers to streamline packaging, which accounts for a large part of municipal waste in many countries. Many products are overpackaged with needless plastic wraps and cardboard padding. Work to get fair laws passed that force industry to move toward solving the waste problem without the most vulnerable consumers bearing the burden of higher prices.