Not Your Father’s “Bottle Bill”: Taxpayers Await New, Better Recycling Programs

The R Street Institute, a market-oriented think tank, agrees. An analysis from the Institute’s Senior Fellow, Philip Rossetti, noted:

             There are potentially good reasons for why policymakers may want to improve recycling rates, be it in pursuit of environmental reasons or to reduce materials reliance on foreign sources. For beverage containers, there is strong evidence to support several claims:

             1. DRSs are more effective at inducing recycling behavior than curbside programs, affirming economic theory that financial incentives are a better motivator for recycling behavior than mandates.

             2. The value of the deposit matters; states with higher values for redeeming beverage containers have higher recycling rates, indicating that should it be necessary to ensure higher recycling rates for specific materials or containers, a larger deposit will increase recycling rates…

             If policymakers do adopt recycling focused policies, they would be better served by pursuing market-based mechanisms over increased regulation…