[LINK] Surveillance in extremis

[Kim Holburn]

On 2006 Aug 29, at 11:16 AM, Howard Lowndes wrote:
> Kim Holburn wrote:
>> Well, in SA they do this with all drink containers.  Works  
>> brilliantly.
>> I have thought for a while that they should introduce a tax on all  
>> packaging (well on everything that has to go into landfill).  The  
>> tax should go to local councils who have to make room it.  Buy the  
>> non-packaged product and save on the packaging.
>
> ...but a lot of the unnecessary packaging is on food stuffs, and  
> there you are up against food handling regulations.

Why shouldn't you pay for things that are going to end up as  
landfill?  If you charge at the tip then people will find nasty ways  
of avoiding the tip like putting their rubbish in other people's  
wheelie bins, dumping it in the bush etc, etc.  If you move the  
charge to the other end of the "consumer cycle" then it's paid  
already.  You don't have to have payment at the tip!!!  'Course I  
don't know if our politicians can actually organise something like  
that fairly.

That said, you really don't need that much packaging for hygiene.

At various points other states tried to bring in something like the  
SA drink container legislation and there was a massive lobby by the  
drink industry.  There was an ABC program about it (4 corners?) a few  
years ago.  It's still a good idea.  It's still a very, very good idea.


--
Kim Holburn
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