Page - 289 - in Freshwater Microplastics - Emerging Environmental Contaminants?

impactplasticpollutionbeyondboosting thecollectionand recyclingofpackaging [98]. NRDCdeveloped policy concepts and legislation tomake the producers of productswhichhaveahigh tendency toendupasplasticpollution, responsiblenot just for recycling, but for litter prevention and mitigation as well. Legislation introduced in California would have (a) had State Agencies identify the major sources of plastic pollution in the environment and (b) required the producers of thoseproducts to reduce the totalamount in theenvironmentby75%in6yearsand 95%in11years.While the legislationdidnot advance far inCalifornia, thiswasa significant development and provides an example of how to incorporate litter prevention andpollutionmitigation in futureEPRpolicy. SectionSummary Theutilityofgreenchemistryhas led topublic confusionover the biodegradability of polymers, stemming from an important differentiation between biopolymers and biodegradable polymers, as well as the true conditions where biodegradability occurs.While biopolymers offer a promising divestment fromfossil fuel feedstocks,biodegradableplasticsarechallengedby the infrastruc- ture requirements for identification, sorting, and degradability. In a circular econ- omy, biopolymers and biodegradable polymers must exist in a system, either manufacturedornatural,wherethematerial is recoveredandreprocessed.Extended producerresponsibility is thepolicymechanismthatcreates thosesystems,with the intention tomitigate the trueeconomic, social, andenvironmental costs associated withwaste. 7 BusinessTransformationThroughNovelPolicy andDesign The status quo formuch of product and packagingmanufacture is planned obso- lescence,whichdrivescheap-as-possiblechemistryanddesignandhasbeenlargely subsidizedbymunicipalities that agree tomanageall thatwaste at a limitedcost to themanufactureandprincipalcost to the taxpayer.Withanabundance in thewaste streamof plastics embedded in difficult-to-recover products and packaging (elec- tronics, laminates, food-soiledpackaging),energyrecoverybecomesamoreattrac- tive alternative. The effort to rely on energy recovery through incineration is largely a perpetu- ationof the“plannedobsolescence”strategyof securingdemandfornewproducts, employed historically since post-WWII manufacture. Planned obsolescence encourages material consumption in several ways: technological (software and upgrades overwhelming old hardware), psychological (fashion), and conventional (designedweakness and impractical repair). The EllenMacArthur Foundation [99] published in February 2016 “TheNew PlasticsEconomy”proposedbusiness solutions thatmanagematerials through the consumer,beyondplannedobsolescence,whereproductdesigners talk to recyclers to create an end-of-life design, systems of “leasing” products over ownership, Microplastic:WhatAre theSolutions? 289