7.3.6—Preventative vs. restorative strategies
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2026
- Objective
- 7.3.6
- Level
- HL
Stop the Waste Before the Cleanup
Preventative waste strategies avoid material use or control pollutant release before damage occurs; restorative strategies clean up and repair systems afterwards.
| Strategy | Examples | Why it ranks this way |
|---|---|---|
| Preventative | reduced consumption, reuse, product redesign, controlled disposal | avoids extraction, waste and damage upstream |
| Restorative | removing litter, remediating soil, attempts to restore ocean garbage patches | acts after impacts and often cannot recover all material or ecosystem function |
Repairing a phone preserves more embedded material and function than shredding it for metals; cleaning leaked toxins later may be costly and incomplete.
Recycling and cleanup can be useful, but they do not make continued high consumption the most sustainable option.