What are the responsibilities of consumers?

Will the eco-contribution influence consumers' buying behaviour?

Producers and importers have a responsibility towards the products they put on the market and this responsibility does not stop once a product is sold. However, the consumer also has an important role to play.

Consumption is one of life's great pleasures. We purchase things in an almost automatic manner, from food products to household appliances to automobiles etc. Marketers make products attractive to encourage their consumption more and more.

However the effects of our consumption patterns have a direct impact on the environment. Most of the things we purchase end up as waste and therefore everyday purchasing decisions made by consumers have important implications for reducing waste, especially since functionally similar products are often marketed and packaged differently.

The reduce, reuse and recycle principle aims to encourage the consumer to question his/her buying habits and to make more informed decisions when buying products.

The producer/importer has the responsibility to ensure that the life of products is extended and it is incomprehensible in today's day and age to overlook the effort in manufacturing and marketing a product which may used for just a few seconds and then thrown away. Eco-contribution is an incentive for producers or importers to organise take back schemes to extend product life.

Eco-contribution attempts to change consumer patterns by encouraging producers to introduce these schemes. As soon as these schemes are set up, the consumer may opt for products whose end-of-life is taken care of by the producer/importer. This has the added advantage that the producer pays less contribution incurred by the product.

In a scenario where marketing forces are so powerful, consumer education is vital even in waste management. When take-back schemes are set up, it will not only be Government who will educate but also the producers/importers.

The eco-contribution commission, set up by the government after a call by the social partners, has started to discuss ways in which the private sector could collect waste for recycling. The commission's terms of reference are to find ways in which private schemes for waste collection should work, for both industrial and domestic waste.

The commission is to analyse how the law could be enforced and to propose ways of doing this without unnecessary bureaucracy. The members of the commission have agreed that any individual or entity interested in implementing private recovery schemes should inform the commission about their proposal by not later than October 31.

Waste issues involve complex technological, economic, social, and political judgments. Consumer education should include information about consumer potential to influence these waste-related policies, regulations, and practices in both the public and private sector. The route to waste reduction in the future requires a combination of initiatives by producers and importers, governmental intervention, and better-informed consumers.