Some people argue that companies and private individuals, rather than governments, should pay to clean up the pollution that they produced. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Huge amounts of

waste

produced every day pose a great threat to human life and the

environment

.

This

raises the question as to whose duty it is to pay for

waste

collection services; the local

governments

or the

companies

and

individuals

who produced them. It only seems reasonable to expect the main polluters to fund the costs.

Corporations

and private sections contribute extensively to pollution,

hence

should pay for the damage they cause. The outcomes of

this

proposal are twofold.

Firstly

, only by making

companies

finance the

waste

treatment process will they be motivated to let go of their old ways and adopt more environmentally friendly procedures,

thus

reducing the amount of

waste

and in turn the costs of

waste

disposal;

for example

by using renewable fuels or sustainable materials in their products, packaging and even marketing.

Secondly

, doing so will take the burden off the

government

’s shoulders, as they are normally considered the sole body responsible for funding the

waste

disposal process. Shifting the responsibility to

corporations

and private

individuals

,

however

,

governments

can allocate the budget to other essential sections

such

as infrastructure or healthcare, which would help society prosper more.

Thus

, forcing

companies

and

individuals

to fund the costs of

waste

collection and disposal would assist the

government

financially and help protect the

environment

.

Nevertheless

, to some,

governments

should solely be responsible for financing the pollution clean-up.

This

may be true as

corporations

and non-state industries are already paying huge sums in taxes every year, so it seems only natural to expect the local

governments

to fund the pollution-cleaning process. Should the

government

pose huge amounts of taxes on

companies

and obligate them to pay for the

waste

treatment as well,

companies

will feel swindled and robbed.

This

, of course, would lead to nothing but the rise in discontentment in society and perhaps tax evasion as a path of reconciliation. Having said that, large

corporations

receive

government

subsidies, and

thus

should be held accountable for their own pollution.

For example

, in case of an oil spill in the ocean, the

government

should not be responsible for providing resources;

that is

the oil company’s responsibility to clean it up and compensate for the possible damages. The

government

’s role here is to make sure there are laws in place that will protect the public’s health and the

environment

, and that these laws are adhered to by the company at fault. So,

corporations

and

individuals

seem to be the ones who should pay for the disposal of the garbage they produce. In conclusion, I agree with

this

proposal.

Although

this

statement might

initially

be hard to implement, and some may resist the idea, in the long run, it will benefit everyone from the

government

to

corporations

and of course the

environment

and nation.