Make Companies Legally Responsible for the Eco‑Friendly Disposal of Everything They Produce

 

We, the undersigned, believe it’s time for a basic rule of civilization....  
If you make it, you take it back.  
If you profit from it, you’re responsible for where it ends up.  
If you design it, you don’t get to dump the cleanup bill on taxpayers, oceans, or future generations.

This is not radical. This is kindergarten logic.

Why this matters
The United States produces more waste per person than any country on Earth. Americans generate nearly five pounds of trash per person per day — and somehow, the bill for managing all that waste lands on local governments, not the corporations that created it.

Meanwhile, over 70% of consumer packaging isn’t recyclable in real‑world conditions. Not because recycling “doesn’t work,” but because products are designed to be impossible to recycle. Mixed materials, toxic additives, single‑use everything — it’s waste by design.

And who pays for that design?  
Not the companies.  
Not the shareholders.  
Not the executives.  
Us.  
Municipalities spend tens of billions every year cleaning up after corporate decisions.

This is the part where we’re supposed to say “thank you” for the privilege of paying for our own pollution. We decline.

What we’re asking for
We call for a federal Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law requiring that:

- Companies are legally responsible for the safe, eco‑friendly disposal or recycling of every product they manufacture.  
- Products must be designed for durability, repairability, and recyclability — not landfill destiny.  
- Corporations must fund or operate take‑back programs for the items they profit from.  
- Toxic and non‑recyclable materials are phased out.  
- Municipalities and taxpayers are no longer forced to subsidize corporate waste.  
- Enforcement includes real penalties, not polite suggestions.

In countries where EPR exists, recycling rates rise, waste drops, and companies innovate. In the U.S., we have a patchwork of tiny state programs covering a few items like paint or mattresses. Nothing comprehensive. Nothing that matches the scale of the problem.

Why this is fair
Right now, corporations get to design products with no end‑of‑life plan, externalize the cost of disposal, and then blame consumers for “not recycling enough.” That’s not environmental policy — that’s a magic trick.

Waste is not a moral failing of the public.  
Waste is a design choice made by manufacturers.

If companies had to pay for the disposal of their own products, they would instantly redesign them to be less toxic, less wasteful, and more reusable. Not because they suddenly care — but because it would cost them money not to.

Why this is funny (in a tragic way)
We already hold people responsible for cleaning up after their dogs.  
But not after their corporations.  
Make it make sense.

What this petition represents
This is not anti‑business.  
This is pro‑accountability.  
This is pro‑future.  
This is pro‑common sense.  

We’re not asking companies to do anything heroic.  
We’re asking them to stop treating the planet like a free dumpster.

Our demand
We urge Congress to pass a federal Extended Producer Responsibility Act that finally aligns responsibility with profit. The public should not be the cleanup crew for corporate design decisions.

It’s time to modernize our laws, protect our communities, and stop pretending that landfills are a sustainable business model.

If you make it, you take it back.  
Sign to support a cleaner, fairer, saner future.