Manufacturing companies have traditionally been much more focused on making and marketing products than on what to do with them at the end of their useful lives. Disposing of old cars, dead appliances and obsolete electronics products was, for the most part, someone else’s problem.
Today, driven mainly by environmental concerns and given force of law through legislative action, manufacturers are increasingly being held responsible for their products from cradle to well beyond the grave. Europe, Japan and the Scandinavian countries seem to have the most stringent regulations in place right now, but the movement to hold manufacturers responsible for end-of-life recycling is rapidly gaining momentum in the United States.