Concern for environmental damage caused by industries’ pollution has reached fever pitch globally.Proactive waste management systems practiced today are still in the“end-of-the-pipe”phase.They need to move beyond recycling to work at minimizing waste generation.This can be done by revisiting the entire production processes of different industries.Worldwide, companies are waking up to the fact that the only sustainable path to the future is the observance of the zero emissions doctrine. As a new paradigm,zero waste has to be embraced with a zeal that goes beyond recycling waste.At the basic level,it would mean that the manufacturer takes back some part of the product for reuse. The significant barriers to zero-waste drive are evident.If there was resistance to setting up effluent treatment plants in the early 1990s,radical shifts in today’s production process are bound to face stronger resistance. The only answer to all this is that polluting industries are inefficient,as research will show.These industries have a short lease on life if they continue down this path.Consumers are already bearing the costs of pollution;they just might be willing to share the price of protection. Governments could subsidize this,but at a cost to the company in terms of higher taxes.And most of all,zero emission would allow companies the opportunity to save costs in the long term. By Editor Concern for environmental damage caused by industries’ pollution has reached fever pitch globally. Proactive waste management systems practiced today are still in the “end-of-the-pipe” phase. They need to move beyond recycling to work at minimizing waste generation. can be done by revisiting the entire production processes of different industries. Worldwide, companies are waking up to the fact that the only sustainable path to the future is the observance of the zero emissions doctrine. As a new paradigm, zero waste has to be embraced with a zeal that goes beyond recycling waste. At the basic level, it would mean that the manufacturer takes back some part of the product for reuse. The significant barriers to zero-waste drive are evident. If there was resistance to setting up effluent treatment plants in the early 1990s, radical shifts in today’s production process are bound to face stronger resistance. The only answer to all this is that polluting industries are inefficient, as research w they show that the industries have a short lease on life if they continue down this path.Consumers are already bearing the costs of pollution; they just might be willing to share the price of protection. Governments could subsidize this, but at a cost to the company in terms of higher taxes. And most of all, zero emission would allow companies the opportunity to save costs in the long term. By Editor