[LINK] ewaste - or green tax

[Martin Barry]

Having just moved to Germany I'm impressed by a lot of ways they approach
this.

- your bins are identified by RFID and weighed by the garbage truck each
  week. you are charged by the amount of waste you generate. recycling not
  only makes you feel warm and fuzzy, it saves you money.

- most glass containers are returnable to the point of purchase for a
  discount on the next purchase (the exception seems to be wine bottles).
  the bottles are then reused saving on the costs of both recycling and
  manufacturing.

- legally whoever packaged the item is responsible for disposing of the
  packaging. for small items the manufacturers have arrangements with
  councils to collect plastics and metals. for larger items they have
  arragements with retailers to collect trade-ins. of couse the costs are
  passed onto the consumer but there is recourse back to them for disposal.

cheers
Marty