Saw this Terracycle article regarding environmental change: http://www.edie.net/news/5/We-can-t-recycle-our-way-out-of-the-waste-crisis--says-TerraCycle-founder/
Terracycle argues that the main source of environmental issues is consumerism. Therefore, we have to change the way we consume to avoid having businesses trying to meet our demands which end up exacerbating environmental problems.
This poses a huge challenge for educating consumers for "better" buying choices and also having them participate in closed-loop systems like what Terracycle aims for. I don't know if it would be more effective for consumers to be "forced" to participate in said closed-loop systems or for a very strong incentive program that allows consumers to be willing to make the "extra effort" to think beyond their immediate needs. It seems the majority of campaigns are not so effective where even many of us in class are not willing to give up our current habits for the sake of convenience.
What will it take for consumers to change their poor buying habits and effectively participate in environmental change?
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