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Why do Municipalities Recycle?

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  • Kinnaman Thomas C.

    (Bucknell University, kinnaman@bucknell.edu)

Abstract

The disposal of municipal solid waste is believed to emit foul odor, threaten groundwater, and increase road congestion. As remote regional landfills have replaced local town dumps, these costs are no longer internalized by garbage-producing households or their municipalities. Instead, rural property owners located adjacent to large regional landfills and along the roadways accessing those landfills bear the external costs of garbage disposal. This paper uses a comprehensive nine-year panel data set of aggregated state data to empirically examine why 8,937 municipalities continue to operate costly recycling programs designed to reduce the external costs of garbage disposal.Results suggest that local tastes for recycling drive municipal decisions. If household preferences for recycling are short lived, then we can expect a future decrease in the number of municipal recycling programs. Recent data indicate the number of recycling programs in operation in the U.S. has indeed fallen.

Suggested Citation

  • Kinnaman Thomas C., 2005. "Why do Municipalities Recycle?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-25, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejeap:v:topics.5:y:2005:i:1:n:5
    DOI: 10.1515/1538-0653.1294
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anonymous, 0. "Increasing Understanding Of Public Problems And Policies 1997; An Executive Summary; Highlights Of The 1997 National Public Policy Education Conference, Charleston, Sc, September 21-24, 1997," Increasing Understanding of Public Problems and Policies, Farm Foundation.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mauro Maia Laruccia & Jarbas Vargas Nascimento & Gilmar Jonas Deghi & Mamerto Granja Garcia, 2011. "A Study of Consumer Behavior on Recycling of Fluorescent Lamps in S?o Paulo, Brazil," International Journal of Business Administration, International Journal of Business Administration, Sciedu Press, vol. 2(3), pages 101-112, August.
    2. Graziano Abrate & Fabrizio Erbetta & Giovanni Fraquelli & Davide Vannoni, 2014. "The Costs of Disposal and Recycling: An Application to Italian Municipal Solid Waste Services," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(5), pages 896-909, May.
    3. Bohm, Robert A. & Folz, David H. & Kinnaman, Thomas C. & Podolsky, Michael J., 2010. "The costs of municipal waste and recycling programs," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 54(11), pages 864-871.
    4. Boyer, Tracy A., 2006. "Talking Trash: Valuing Household Preferences for Garbage and Recycling Services Bundles Using a Discrete Choice Experiment," 2006 Annual meeting, July 23-26, Long Beach, CA 21074, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    5. Brian Chi-ang Lin & Siqi Zheng & Ankinée Kirakozian, 2016. "One Without The Other? Behavioural And Incentive Policies For Household Waste Management," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 526-551, July.
    6. Usui, Takehiro & Kakamu, Kazuhiko & Chikasada, Mitsuko, 2015. "To introduce recycling or not: A panel data analysis in Japan," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 84-95.
    7. Dijkgraaf, Elbert & Gradus, Raymond, 2009. "Environmental activism and dynamics of unit-based pricing systems," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 13-23, January.
    8. Daisuke Ichinose, 2024. "Landfill Scarcity and the Cost of Waste Disposal," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(3), pages 629-653, March.
    9. Thomas C. Kinnaman, 2006. "Policy Watch: Examining the Justification for Residential Recycling," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(4), pages 219-232, Fall.
    10. Neves, Sónia Almeida & Marques, António Cardoso & Silva, Inês Patrício, 2024. "Promoting the circular economy in the EU: How can the recycling of e-waste be increased?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 192-201.
    11. Matthew Gunter, 2007. "Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Household and Municipal Recycling?," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 4(1), pages 83-111, January.
    12. Starr, Jared & Nicolson, Craig, 2015. "Patterns in trash: Factors driving municipal recycling in Massachusetts," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 7-18.
    13. S. R. Parthan & M. W. Milke & I. Sheerin, 2019. "Solid Waste Management Cost Function Analysis in Industrialising Cities: Lessons from the Healthcare Sector," Journal of Development Policy and Practice, , vol. 4(2), pages 145-165, July.
    14. Romano, Giulia & Masserini, Lucio, 2023. "Does a zero-waste strategy in sustainable urban waste management affect hierarchy targets and costs?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    15. Saphores, Jean-Daniel M. & Nixon, Hilary, 2014. "How effective are current household recycling policies? Results from a national survey of U.S. households," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 1-10.

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    Keywords

    solid waste; policy incidence;

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