Do the rich recycle more? Understanding the link between income inequality and separate waste collection within metropolitan areas

Abstract

The existence of inequality within societies makes one expect to observe an income gap in cities. However, it is not clear whether the income gap translates or not into a recycling gap. Barcelona and London are compared to characterise the income-recycling nexus within cities. On the one hand, in Barcelona, although the income gap is smaller, separate collection rates reproduce income disparities between local authorities. On the other hand, in London, a bigger income gap is not translated into separate collection rates. Evidence is provided to hypothesise that this difference is linked to their service financing regime. The idea that the rich recycle more because of being more educated or having different consumption patterns should be re-examined under institutional lenses. If the rich recycle more, it might be just because of regressive distribution of municipal resources. It is urgent to consider distributional issues when designing metropolitan recycling policies. Otherwise, transitions to sustainable urban environments might be restricted to affluent areas within cities.