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Regional Strategies Toxicity Reduction A. Introduction RETH INK 6a RECYCLING® Reducing the toxicity of the waste stream is important in order to effectively protect public health and the environment. The most effective way to reduce the toxicity of waste is to redesign products to use less toxic components or to recover toxic components before they enter the waste stream, but sometimes toxic products must be used and then disposed of appropriately. In these instances, the waste containing toxic or hazardous components should be removed from the MSW waste stream and properly managed. Before turning its focus to the management of toxic waste, the Regional Master Plan calls for an initial focus to be on preventing the toxic waste from even being created. The Master Plan calls upon residents and businesses to use fewer products containing toxic and hazardous components, reduce the amount of the product used, and properly manage products containing toxic or hazardous materials. The Region will develop appropriate communication tools to assist the counties in carrying these messages to the community, and additional information about specific communication strategies can be found in the Regional Master Plan's "Communication and Outreach" section. A regional effort to foster product stewardship, meaning that all parties involved in designing, manufacturing, selling, and using a product take responsibility for the life -cycle environmental impacts of that product, will also prove effective from a cost, public health and environmental perspective. However, consistent with a key theme throughout the Regional Master Plan, greater private sector involvement and reduced dependence on government subsidization is needed to enhance product stewardship in the years ahead. Finally, in addition to communication tools and encouraging greater product stewardship, the Region will continue to use a variety of compliance strategies, including coordinating certain aspects of hazardous waste regulation, to assure the proper management of toxic and hazardous waste by regulated entities. The counties will also continue to offer a regional HHW collection system through a reciprocal use agreement. B. Regional Strategies The SWMCB will: 1. Maintain the reciprocal use agreement for HHW collection services; 2011 -2030 Regional Solid Waste Master Plan Approved by the Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board on December 14, 2011 Appendix V Page 35