Read the full post at Local Search Insider.
What is the role of government in product stewardship? This question was posed to me as one of five panelists on yesterday’s Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) webinar. Many government officials and recycling professionals listened in, and other panelists included:
- Alison Keane of the American Coatings Association, which represents both companies and professionals working in the paint and coatings industry
- Reid Lifset of Yale University
- Russ Martin, president, Global Product Stewardship Council
- Fenton Rood of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality
According to PSI’s invitation, the purpose of the webinar discussion was to discern, “…whether key [product stewardship] program principles, such as transparency and accountability, are best attained through voluntary, mandatory, or hybrid programs that encompass elements from both approaches.”
During the webinar, I stressed that it is important to not lump all of private industry together when considering how to regulate the environmental impact of products in the marketplace. Government leaders and other key stakeholders should look at what each individual industry is doing and not take a one-size-fits-all approach.
