FOR A BETTER WORLD, FBWRI RECYCLING INITIATIVE
Description of the problem in general:
Solid waste or the items discarded on a daily basis by people around the world have always been a serious environmental problem, but it has been greatly aggravated by the exponential growth in population that the world has seen.
With the advent of recycling programs in many parts of the world and recycling awareness campaigns, the amount of waste generated per individual has actually shown a small decline. As decreasing as it may be, the amount of solid waste generated daily has shown a massive increase, due to the population factor.
Dealing with waste in the past was more an issue of where to hide it, not what to do with it. There is now a trend and an inspired motivation both from the grassroots and political levels to tackle this problem head on and find practical and workable solutions to deal with this delicate problem.
Solid waste is no longer considered essential items that are discarded from human and animal activities. They cover everything from:
Organic elements: food remains, corpses, plants, feces…
Inorganic elements: plastic, metal, wood, chemical products, tires/rubber, batteries, packaging, cardboard…
A robust recycling program could effectively recycle more than 90% of all these types of waste, turning it into recycled products like cardboard and plastic, or as a fuel source with generation of methane gas from human waste.
Unfortunately, there is no complete recycling program anywhere in the world, rather different countries and towns/municipalities adopt parts of the cohesive recycling program to focus on limited recycling activities based on the resources they have available to create such programs.
Improve waste resource recovery, proper use, and robust recycling procedures
Passing laws requiring people to separate their trash into proper recycling bins has been shown to have little effect on increasing recycling. Awareness programs to increase consumer awareness and motivate them to take care of the environment have been much more successful. It is much better for a citizen to recycle because he believes it is the right thing to do and not because he feels obligated.
The biggest inhibiting factor of any recycling program in the world is a lack of resources, a lack of staff, and a lack of facilities to adequately address the problem.
When something is a business and has a profit motivation, many companies and people, respectively, will gladly participate. When it is merely a moral obligation or a legal obligation, then there is no guarantee that people will comply.
How do we motivate people to recycle?
The saying “What’s in it for me?” certainly applies to a recycling program like any other social project. If we enumerate the current arguments as in
“It’s good for the environment”,
“It’s the right thing to do.”
“It’s for a better future”
So we are rolling the dice in the hope of pulling enough moral strings that we can successfully motivate people to recycle, but this is simply a gamble with no measurable means to ensure its success.
Now, if we offer an incentive to complement the moral argument, then we will greatly increase our chances of success and citizen participation.
In this capitalist world, what motivates people the most is the opportunity to earn money. Recycling has proven to be a very profitable business, but for select companies that are in the business, not the individual.
Motivation based on profit and morality
exchange for benefits
Governments could offer an incentive where when their citizens turn in their properly separated items to designated recycling facilities, they receive a coupon, with each coupon worth points. This could be called “RP’s” or Recycling Points. With these RP, then, the citizen could be offered a discount either by the private sector as an additional incentive for citizens to frequent their stores, and by the Government sector in discounts on the payment of their taxes, public services, or any other concept where money is collected for services.
Private sector participation:
A pilot campaign can be launched with select national retailers, who will offer discounts on their products and services, in exchange for the “RP”. The retailer would then, in turn, receive government tax rebates for all the “RP” he has collected.
Benefits for private retailers and businesses:
The private sector will directly benefit by motivating people to patronize that particular business. They will enhance your reputation as a “green” company and provide opportunities for growth. They will also benefit from receiving discounts on their taxes, which will allow them to be more profitable and, consequently, create more jobs.
Government participation:
Private sector participation
The government, in turn, can offer incentives to private industry to invest in and operate recycling processing facilities. The government can sell bonds, offer tax breaks, offer land and other resources, including actual cash, to participate as a partner with private industry in running such facilities. Including partnership with organizations like UNOPS. The revenue generated from the sale of these recycled materials to the private sector and industries will in turn compensate the government for any and all tax breaks and other incentives they have offered their citizens for their voluntary participation in the recycling program initiative. recycling.
Government incentives for its citizens
The government can offer its citizens, in exchange for their RP’s, the following benefits:
Property tax discounts
Discounts on the payment of any government related service
A global health plan option covered in part by Recycled Points “RP’s”
Trade “RP” for basic food and household items
Benefits for achieving higher education or education programs
And many more programs possible.
Sanctions for non-compliance
As the FBWRI will offer benefits to people who want to participate in it by providing compensation for products, services and food in exchange for the “RP” earned, for people who refuse to participate or have a small amount of “RP”. “‘s, penalties may apply.
For example, when a defaulting citizen is required to pay any type of vehicle, income, or home tax, instead of being eligible for a discount, they would in turn end up paying a much higher percentage than they would normally pay. to be charged.
This then provides a double incentive.
1) Participate in the program voluntarily and receive direct economic benefits
2) Refuse to participate and then be financially penalized
Both will serve as a very strong motivation to convince people that it is better to recycle.
Long-Term Benefits of the FBWRI
The FBWRI will serve to benefit our world in many ways:
Great reduction of solid waste stored in landfills
Activate the participation of all your citizens by greatly reducing the burden of obtaining and keeping the right staff
Empower your citizens to take positive and proactive steps for your community
Provide more opportunities for your citizens to earn income, and more income means a stronger and healthier economy, a happier citizen, and a more successful government.
Generate more employment, helping to solve both the solid waste crisis and the unemployment crisis “Two birds with one stone”.
Set a role model for the world to follow by being a true thought leader in the recycling initiative.
Provide much-needed strong sources of revenue for state and local governments.
Provide funds that could be used to improve quality of life, education, medicine, health care, and social projects.
Reduce overall costs of waste management facilities and cost of ownership
Encourage the green industry to expand and offer more opportunities for growth.
WHY FBWRI?
Waste management has reached its critical mass. It can no longer be buried in landfills and simply hidden as it has always been done in the past. Not only is there the problem of too much waste and too little space, there is also the growing problem that the world is running out of resources. The disposable society model may have worked in the past when the world was a much smaller place, but this reckless philosophy can no longer provide any meaningful future pathways for communities. Many items that are thrown away were simply used to package a product, and such packaging can be easily recycled and reused.
It is necessary to implant a conscience in the citizen, so that they realize that all the current activities in their lives, in turn, will affect the quality of life in the short and long term of their own children. The concept of “it doesn’t affect me” should be replaced by “it affects us all”.
FBWRI is a project that should have been implemented many years ago, so to say that there is no time like the present is a gross understatement. By combining the moral incentive with a financial incentive that will allow a self-sustaining recycling program to work, it should be the model for the world to follow. Economically leading countries are in an incredible position to set an example for others and help build a better future for all.