College of Business Administration

1) “A cyclical, restorative economy thinks cradle-to-cradle, so that every product or by-product is imagined in its subsequent forms even before it is made. Designers must factor in the future utility of a product, and the avoidance of waste, from its inception…Responsibility belongs to the maker, not merely the user…In the linear, non-cyclical system of today, responsibility is blurred or in some cases nonexistent. By placing both the responsibility and the cost of mitigation with the originator of the problem, vast and compelling incentives are created for companies to redesign, even reimagine, their business and processes.” – Hawken p. 71.

Do you agree and what affect do you think such a system would have on the market and prices?

2) Should San Diego mandate the recycling of construction waste, which accounts for 1/3 of municipal landfill waste? The construction industry would prefer a voluntary system, otherwise “projects slow down, costs go up, housing prices go up.”

Do you vote for voluntary or mandatory recycling for such a significant source of landfill debris? Why?

3) Who should finance car recycling – manufacturers or consumers? What role should government play?

4) The California Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 mandates the collection and recycling of obsolete electronics. Producers and retailers will be charged a $6-10 fee per item to fund a statewide recycling infrastructure. HP is already the largest electronics recycler in the US voluntarily and charges consumers a fee to fund its recycling efforts. Under California’s new law, HP will pay. HP disagrees that the producer is held solely responsible for the costs of the program and opposed the legislation.

Is HP’s opposition to California’s E-Waste Recycling legislation reasonable?

5) How generalizable are the successes of Kalundborg, Denmark to other potential eco-industrial parks?

6) “Private agents working in competitive businesses tend to minimize the amount of waste they produce, whether by using their inputs more productively or by finding new uses for their by-products. The market process, unlike regulation, is a systematic error-correcting mechanism that encourages innovation. Within a market framework, trading by-products is not a good in itself if there is a more effective waste solution upstream. Where there is not, trade is likely to occur.” - Pierre Desrochers

Do you agree? Would the by-product-synergy approach to dealing with waste be undertaken if it were not for governmental regulations?

7) “Closing of loops will be a logical result if taxes are high enough”

Do you agree with this statement? Who should pay the taxes?

8) Does loop-closing solve environmental problems or go around them? Is it enough, or should a more radical move be made, such as completely redesigning processes and products that do not produce by-products (waste) that potentially harm the environment as described by Hawken?

9) Friederich Schmidt-Bleek and his Factor 10 Institute emphasizes generating less waste in the first place – through less material-intensive products, solutions, and consumption - versus simply recycling whatever waste we generate. Some of the proposed solutions effectively require doing without various products or finding substitutes. For example, would you support banning bottled water to save the materials, energy and transportation resources and costs involved? Gold creates “vast environment destruction for minute production,” and generates toxic wastes, while 85% of gold mined is used for jewelry.

Would you support phasing out gold mining? Why or why not?