These initiatives come fairly cheaply. The Northwest Product Stewardship Council has an annual budget of approximately $25,000 (shared among four local jurisdictions and other funding sources). Passing local resolutions has minimal costs, but perhaps also minimal impact beyond messages they send to industry, the media, and the public. Resolutions spelling out specific steps the local jurisdiction plan to take, may have more associated follow-up costs but more impact. Banning products may have some enforcement costs. Duluth’s mercury thermometer ban has involved minimal costs to date. Columbia’s deposit law puts the financial onus on industry rather than on local government to pick up the costs of waste disposal -- precisely the intent of EPR initiatives. King County’s environmental purchasing program saved it money and resources. In 1999, the county saved approximately $525,000 by purchasing recycled materials. In Germany, the local taxes on non-reusable packaging and cutlery have given rise to a new green service industry: reusable dish and cutlery washing businesses. Some local governments had even purchased their own mobile dishwashers and rented them out to neighboring towns and the private sector. The environment and economic development can go hand in hand. Changing the rules can indeed promote local productive capacity.

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