By now, most of us are probably familiar with the iconic 3 R’s of early environmental and waste prevention slogans: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The 3 R’s have provided a simple, yet solid foundation on which consumers can base their purchasing and disposal-related decisions. However, when the focus of waste prevention shifts upstream to the world of design, manufacturing, and industry, the 3 R’s often fall short of achieving their mission.

To effectively address waste prevention at the appropriate scope and scale, many large-scale waste prevention innovators have expanded the well-known 3 R’s to 6 R’s in order to integrate a more systemic and often cost-reducing approach to the prevention of waste: Rethink, Redesign, Re-purpose, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

At the heart of industrial waste prevention is the idea that every product, service, and manufacturing process can and should undergo a Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA). This assessment process considers the end of a product’s useful life just as important as the beginning. The idea is to design products and services that will make landfills a thing of the past. Whether we design food packaging that can be recycled or composted, cars that can be 100% dissembled and recycled, or entire industrial eco-systems that transform one industry’s waste stream into another’s raw material, the fundamentals remain the same.

In the past, many industrial waste prevention programs have been perceived as potential public relations nightmares, and were thus kept secret until catastrophe struck. However, the new era in industrial waste prevention will be characterized by transparency, collaboration, and innovation. Will you be ready for the shift?

Sources:
www.recycleworks.org
www.mcdonough.com

Comments (0)