In the first world, we've had it easy for a good few decades. Up until relatively recently there were huge populations whose countries were so underdeveloped that their demand for many natural resources, especially with regard to energy production, was, on a per capita basis, very very low. But things are changing and finally FINALLY we wake up to the fact that we may not be able to afford the luxury of our past profligacy. There may still be enough to go round, but it will come at a price, so the cost of inefficiency and waste is on the increase
One current high profile policy shift in the UK (supported by incoming legislation) will be the phasing out of inefficient traditional light bulbs. They are to be replaced by more energy efficient alternatives, and the change will be phased in via the phasing-out of the sale of the traditional alternatives. So eventually all the old bulbs will go pop and be replaced by less hungry alternatives. The US has recently moved to phase in a similar policy, albeit (surprise, surprise) with less aggressive targets and timescales
Only thing is ...
The side effect
Currently many of the energy efficient alternatives contain mercury and mercury is poisonous. It is a hazardous waste. Clearly your spent bulbs should not be thrown in the bin along with your potato peelings and whizzed off to the nearest landfill. And that's before we get into the ins and outs of what to do if you accidentally smash one open on your kitchen floor
The solution? Well, currently it is "we'll tell people not to put their old bulbs in the bin". Hmmm, will that work? How easy will that be to control? Light bulbs are relatively small and wheelie bins are pretty big and, when collected, bins are indiscriminately emptied into the backs of bin lorries (translation: garbage trucks). It will be nigh on impossible to know if there's a light bulb, or even, god forbid, several light bulbs, lurking in amongst the other detritus. The required level of compliance has several factors working against it
1. Most people will not be aware that the new bulbs contain mercury
2. Most people will not be aware of the toxicity and dangers associated with mercury
3. Many people will not notice any warnings on the pack
4. People forget
5. Even if the above were not true, many people will see the disposal of one or two small items in amongst a sea of other waste as insignificant by the processes of dilution and will take the easy "chuck it in the bin" route
Consequently there's a good initiative accompanied by an as yet unsolved conundrum and there's a lesson in this for everyone. That lesson is to fully understanding the nature of causes and effects and properly thinking through on a scenario by scenario basis of all of our system improvements prior to implementation. Most importantly understanding the inherent problem of any improvement that relies on a change in human behaviour. Old habits are hard (by definition) to break and, in motivational terms, given two alternatives people will favour the easy option. We feel a Capable Motto coming on ...
"the best systems make the right thing also the easiest thing to do"
The behavioural side of quality. This will all be so much easier when we're all cyborgs
Check out the Capable People approach to process improvement here
