And this is the rotten core of the matter. For the main problem with trash is not its 'back end', as it were. It's not so much what we as individuals throw away, but the waste that has been incurred making the things we so abundantly consume. Not what we don't see. According to Robert Ayres, an expert on industrial metabolism, about 94 per cent of materials extracted for use in manufacturing become waste before the product is even made.
More waste still is generated during manufacture.
Overall, he claims, US industry uses as much as 100 times more material and energy than is theoretically required to deliver the goods. One way of tackling this criminal inefficiency is to bring in tougher legislation that encourages cleaner production and penalizes the waster and the polluter. Sometimes this works even before the laws come into force, as happened in certain parts of German industry . The idea of 'extending producer responsibility' is also gaining ground in other parts of Northern Europe. Another way is to try to convince business that it can save money by being more efficient and creating less waste.