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Take-back laws as a revenue stream?

Unlike Europe, where the issue of solid waste focuses almost entirely on packaging, the U.S. looks at the total waste stream, said J. Winston Porter, president of The Waste Policy Center and former EPA official.

Speaking at a late July conference on domestic and international environmental packaging legislation, Porter said that Europe has embraced the principle of the manufacturer pays and is responsible for collection of its packaging, a position so far rejected in the U.S. That could change to some degree, Porter suggested, because of the government's need for revenue. "Fees on business often sound good," he said. "They look at industry as a source of revenue."

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