Legislating a negative feedback loop

[GliderGuider]

Over on the Economy board there is a discussion about "How can we save the economy?" In my usual tangential fashion I replied that we couldn't, but there were some things we should do anyway. One of the suggestions I had was more environmental, so I thought I'd post it here to see if anyone has thoughts on it. It is this:

Legislate the re-use of industrial waste streams by the factories that produce them.

Basically, the premise is that forcing industrial operators to re-process their waste streams would cause them to improve their waste-producing processes, since it's easier to produce a "clean" waste stream than to clean up a dirty input stream.

Alternatively, the waste stream could be sold to another manufacturer for whom the qualities of the waste stream might be useful.

Any waste that could not be reused could be disposed of, but only upon audited certification of its non-reusability and the payment of a disposal fee.

I readily admit that the idea is stolen. I think I read it first many years ago in a Heinlein short story about a black woman VP who becomes president, and decides to do as much good as possible in what will surely be her only kick at the can. One of the ideas her adviser gives her is this: As Commander-in-Chief she has jurisdiction over all navigable waterways (which turns out to be any waterway over 3 feet deep or something). This gives her the right to issue an edict that any factory using water from a navigable waterway must put its intake some small distance downstream from its outflow...

[pinto]

1. Interesting ideas. Not sure about specifics, but I like reusing "waste" vs dumping it.

And yeah, iirc, Army Corps of Engineers has to sign off on any waterway projects/changes/impacts, etc.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. Could it have been a Neal Stephenson/"Stephen Bury" story

http://www.amazon.com/Interface-Neal-Stephenson/dp/0553383434">Interface

I only mention this because I don't remember a Heinlein story regarding a black female VP who becomes president, while Interface has just such a character, and the tactic sounds familiar.

[GliderGuider]

3. No, it was Heinlein -- I think it was a story called "Over the Rainbow"

An inexperienced black woman is chosen as a VP running mate to grab the black and woman votes. The ticket wins, the president is sworn in and promptly dies, leaving the woman with a single term to become the best president the USA ever had. Looking back on it, the story is waaay too optimistic for my current state of cynicism.

I think some people in Sarah Palin's camp had read it, so they looked at John McCain and promptly had a little fantasy of their own.

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. Interesting, I wonder who borrowed from whom (presumably Stephenson from Heinlein)

In Interface, the (white, male) President elect is assassinated.

http://heinleinblog.blogpeoria.com/2002/01/15/racism-and-race-relations/

[kristopher]

5. Random thoughts

1) Any waste that couldn't be reused could be disposed of after being certified non-reusable and payment of a disposal fee.

2) I suppose this would be a Federal program, so how are you going to justify its existence as it will apply to the 50 states - interstate commerce? Locally obtained raw materials and goods produced would be exempted...

3) What about enforcement and certification? How are the professional certifiers going to judge the "non-reusability" of something?
3a) Is it going to be based on pricing of raw materials vs recycling costs?
3b) If so, who buys the resulting recycled re-raw material if it is say, 5X as expensive as the raw raw material?

4) Are the "inspectors" going to sort through the garbage item by item? If they aren't who will?
4a) How do we know that the sorting is done properly? Wouldn't that require highly trained professionals?
4b) Are these sorting professionals (they would probably need to be highly trained to recognize all the various materials and potential uses for those materials, right?) going to be employees of the company producing the wastes, government employees, or employees of a waste company?

5) How can corruption be discouraged? It looks like a difficult program to oversee properly, with strong incentives to cheat.
5a) Are the sorters and inspectors going to be policed in some manner?

I would say that 3b is the most troublesome and that it suggests an alternative strategy that might accomplish the same goal with fewer problems in implementation:
Identify the materials it is desirable to recycle and lay a tax on the raw materials that will raise their price above the cost of the recycled material, making the recycled material the best value.

Of course, that is going to carry with it the requirement that you somehow protect domestic industries that will want to flee to locations where they can buy the raw material at untaxed prices....