Extended Producer Responsibilities for Automobiles, Medicines, and Electronics - Case Study Example

Extended Producer Responsibilities for Automobiles, Medicines, and Electronics Extended Producer Responsibilities for Automobiles, Medicines, and Electronics Abstract In the modern days, policymakers and the society at large have raised the apprehension about the growing problem of harmful constituents and wastes from automobiles, medicines and electronics on the human health and the environment in Europe, United States and globally. Based on the majority alarm that the issue deserves attention, the major point of focus for the environment devotees is on how to battle the issue and come up with long term solutions. This paper therefore, goes ahead to examine the possible ways of responding to the point of concern. It then describes the extended producer responsibilities and how it works in Europe, issues of dangerous waste handling policies in the U. S., effects of such wastes on municipal lands, possible recommendations on programs and policies, and what exactly they anticipate to achieve Extended Producer Responsibilities for Automobiles, Medicines, and Electronics In December 2012, Harri Kalimo, Reid LIfset, Chris van Rossem, Luk van Wassenhove, Atalay Atasu and Kieren Mayers in their outstanding work on “ European Energy and Environmental Law Review” titled “Greening the Economy through Design Incentives: Allocating Producer Responsibility” recognizes the essence of efficient waste handling to the society. They point out the need for the authorities concerned to come up and ensure implementation of policies that has the capacity to effectively address the exhaustion of non-renewable constituents, lessen emanations to air and water, and avoid the formation of waste alongside enlightening the reutilizing and end-of-life administration of products. They go ahead to emphasize on reutilizing, recycle and eventual anticipation but bearing in mind that the essential mechanism still remains the Extended Producer Responsibility. These arguments are found at the introduction part of this work (Hassan & HassabElnaby, 2012). In an attempt to realize if the topic of concern bear fruits, we approach it by giving answers to the following questions. These are: 1. What does Extended Producer Responsibilities entail and how does it work in Europe for automobiles, medicine, and electronics, among other issues or sectors where products containing harmful constituents and wastes are to be recycled, reused, or disposed by the original producers. 2. Issues associated with implementation of these programs in the United States. 3. Issues associated with Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PIE) and of electronics when placed on municipal landfills just before giving recommendations. To begin with is what Extended Producer Responsibilities (EPR) entailed and how it works in Europe for automobiles, medicine, and electronics. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) refers to in quotes, “Environmental policy line of attack in which a producer’s responsibility for an item for consumption is stretched to the after-consumption stage of a produce life cycle.” It is characterized by: kaleidoscopic of responsibilities from the municipalities to the producers themselves and the provisions of motivations to these producers in order for them to take into account the attentions of the environs during product designs. Information sourced from “OECD: Better Policies For Better Lives” retrieved from (website: http://www.oecd.org/env/tools-evaluation/extendedproducerresponsibility.htm) EPR is taken to be obligatory in Europe in the framework of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, End of Life Vehicles, and battery Instructions, which emphasizes on the producer responsibilities on pertaining the gathering cost, recycling, as well as final disposal of such products as accumulators, electronics, batteries and vehicles. It also puts emphasis on taking essential actions on ensuring that schemes are set up to assemble and recycle wastes. In Europe, it has even moved further to identifying the producer organization responsible for streaming these wastes which also include among them medical wastes (Stephen & Randall, 2009). In 2005 in the European Union, the Thematic Strategy on the Prevention and Recycling of Waste emphasized on the producer responsibility to increase recycling in regions where market issues fail to otherwise financially encourage collection and recycling. In 2011, Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe also make a contribution to this by encouraging the embracement measures of producer stewardship by covering the entire life cycle of a product. Issues associated with implementation of these programs in the United States. Some producers who may have intensions of avoiding these policies tend to come up with products lacking firm accountability mechanisms. This slow the process of full momentum of these programs. This in turn had led to the failure of such laws or policies achieving expected results. More promising, is the support shown by the RBRC in Oregon and Washington states. It supports the legislations of the EPR on rechargeable batteries varieties. As a result, the manufactures of such brands of batteries are, therefore, highly in the U. S. markets in order to help them enforce such policy requirements (Robbins, 2009). Among these in the implementation of ERP programs also include the following: restructuring corporate methods from an unyielding, mass-transaction alignment to lean, responsive, and knowledge-based method. Throughout the corporate progression change efforts, companies must integrate agreeing training plans, functioning procedures, and info know-hows to upkeep the evolving infrastructure. The outcome of suitably implementing ERP is thus to expand organization performance first and foremost initiated by reformed corporate processes, incorporated management tasks, speeded reporting phases, and prolonged information abilities (Hassan & HassabElnaby, 2012). Alongside this, the business’ ability to readily avail information assist them attain strategic initiatives and competitive advantage. This concept of timely response, deviations analysis from projections and adopting responsible decisions to correct such deviations is rooted in the cybernetic control theory. The adoption of the ERP schemes thus offer to managers’ survival and adaption means hence the need for their implementations by managers in order to facilitate such strategies. Thus firms achieve market differentiation and cost leadership. ERP framework also helps firms pursue options of strategic plans such as coalitions and mergers, innovation of products among others. Successful implementations of ERP positively impact on the embracing of the prospector-type corporate plan since it effectually enhance such approaches in the U. S. (Kalimo, 2012). The pharmaceuticals have various effects to the environment especially when dumped in the soil. Some of this effects include the following, to start with, they lead to Lead poisoning that make children develop respiratory complications. This also leads to a lot of complications to the humans such as bone problems, respiratory complications, digestive problems, neurological ailments. These are only caused by the pharmaceuticals. The practices which lead to emissions of gases that include shredding, dismantling of the products in the backyards, and burning often lead to a greater damaging of the environment. Electronic waste deposit can lead to pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases which are a major threat in the world today as they are expensive to handle. They also lead to cancer especially when held with bare hands. They get their way into the human body through the crops they consume. This is after the dumping of these e wastes in the municipal halls. They don’t consider the fact that these municipalities are heavily populated. The E P A program that would be recommended to curb these issues can be the High GWP Partnership Program. This program contains the following subdivisions of concern;SF6 Emission Reduction Partnership, SF6 Emission Reduction for the Magnesium Industry, Voluntary Aluminum Industrial Partnership, EPA’s PFC Reduction/Climate Partnership for the Semi-conductor industry. EPA’s Voluntary High Global Warming Potential Programs are mandated with making sure that public-private industry partnerships are there and they provide sustainable reduction in the emissions of the harmful gases that warm the globe that is the greenhouse gases or global warming potential gases (GWP). The regulations that can be applied include the compilations of reused-recycled pharmaceuticals and electronic regulations and their related statutes that also includes laws relating to them. This will help the responsible authorities and governments devise the best ways of curbing this problem. It has been applied on various occasions in different areas and have been successful (Stephen & Randall, 2009). The next regulation is heavy taxation on the pharmaceutical an electronic that are shipped into the country. The responsible authorities are taxed with coming up with those heavy legislations and ensuring materials being imported are not harmful. Also the authorities must ensure for proper disposal of the wastes. In conclusion, the project has been clearly researched and from the above, if properly applied, can curb the harmful effects of the pharmaceuticals, automobile and the electronics waste on the environment and human health. References Harri Kalimo, R. L. (2012). : European Energy and Environmental Law Review. Hassan R. HassabElnaby, W. H. (2012). The impact of ERP implementation on organizational capabilities and firm performance. Emerald Group Publishing Limite. Robbins, M. W. (2009). Whole Green Catalog: 1000 Best Things for You and the Earth. Rodale. Stephen B. Randall, N. C. (2009). A Guide to Manual Materials Handling and Back Safety. Occupational Safety and Health Division, North Carolina Department of Labor. Read More