The determinants of household recycling: a material-specific analysis of recycling program features and unit pricing

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of two popular solid waste programs on the percent recycled of several different materials found in the residential solid waste stream. We examine a unique, household-level data set representing middle and upper-middle income groups in 20 metropolitan statistical areas across the country and containing information on the percent recycled of five different materials: glass bottles, plastic bottles, aluminum, newspaper, and yard waste. We find that access to curbside recycling has a significant positive effect on the percentage recycled of all five materials and that the level of this effect varies across different materials. The length of the recycling program's life also has a significant positive effect on two materials. Making recycling mandatory has an insignificant effect on all five materials. The level of the unit price is insignificant in our regressions, but the effect of unit pricing on recycling activity remains unclear.