On September 9th, 2015, Clarissa Morawski, Managing Director of the Reloop Platform (www.reloopplatform.eu) had the opportunity to join fellow ISWA (International Solid Waste Association) bloggers Ranjith Annepu (Waste Wise), Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola (WeCyclers), Rob Buurman (Bond Beter Leefmilieu), and Zoë Lenkiewicz (communications and business developmentconsultant) on stage in the final conference session.
Clarissa reflected on the fact that Europe is not alone in its struggles with managing waste resources. She explained that cost externalities must be accounted for in all economic analyses being undertaken by the EU and national governments when considering legislative initiatives. The monetization and subsequent internalization of the costs and benefits of waste reduction and diversion (i.e. financial impact, impact on the environment, indirect business and jobs that are created, impact to consumers and the public at large) is necessary in order to have a more holistic understanding of the impacts of their decisions.
To illustrate her point, Clarissa used the example of litter. More often than not, the negative impacts of litter on property values, tourism, and the health and well-being of the general public are left out of the picture, resulting in a gross underestimate of the true cost of the problem.
The panel, entitled, Inspiring Solutions for the Future contributed to the closing ceremony of the ISWA2015 Annual 3-day Conference held in Antwerp, Brussels. (iswa2015.org)
You can read her recent blog here:
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