Over the last 30 years, the number of smokers in the U.S. has steadily decreased—a tribute to the efforts of public-health workers everywhere. And while this fact is unarguable, less obvious are the social and cultural forces that lead an individual to kick the habit. In fact, when someone crumbles that last empty pack of their favorite unfiltered brand and vows to never buy another, he might not realize that he is less like the heroic individual grasping his own boot straps and more like a single bird whose sudden left turn is just one speck in the larger flock.

The practice of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is picking up steam, most notably in the information technology industry. A growing number of companies are taking on greater levels of responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products - from point of manufacturing through to end of the life recycling. E-waste recycling is taking off, but obstacles remain to its widespread practice in North America.