Hi Ravish - thanks for the responses. To clarify my last question, I think the government would need to implement policies that require the packaging changes that your solution would entail. Such policies include could come in the form of Extended Producer Responsibility regulations. From my research on EPR in Sweden, producers innovate and implement sustainable production practices (e.g. finding new ways to produce packaging with fewer resources) when they will otherwise incur higher costs if they proceed with business as usual. I'm happy to have a more in-depth conversation on EPR and how costs are carried to producers. Potential costs tend to lead to positive change more than potential payments (e.g. my costs will increase $50 per 1000 units vs. I will receive a tax break of $50 per 1000 units if I do X, Y, Z). I think your idea could be a great solution to offer to producers as a means for responding to EPR. If they adopt this updated packaging and recyclers have magnetic infrastructure, then more of the producers' products will be properly recycled at their end of use life.

I am C2C Institute certified and am happy to share more information about the certification and C2C frameworks. Feel free to email me directly - emmacchow@gmail.com. I will be in Boston this weekend and then traveling internationally for three weeks.

Quite an interesting idea with lots of potential. Key questions that come to mind right away include:
- How quickly can this solution be implemented?
- What % of recycling processors in Boston area, Massachusetts, the US, and then internationally use magnetic sorting systems? How much do they cost? How long does it take to install them?
- What is the solution for recycling processors who receive "single-stream" waste (e.g. the magnet would pick up metal items along with the paper items with magnetic bands)?
- What is the consequence for manufacturers that do not include the metal band or are hesitant to adopt?
- Are manufacturers incentivized at all to change the way they actually produce packaging to be less resource intensive?

Let me know if you have questions or if you'd like me to elaborate further.
I'm also new to the Boston Chapter and happy to talk through your idea more.

Yes, 100% agree!