The Impact of State and Local Policies on the Recycling Effort

This research analyzes the economic, political, and demographic determinants of a community's recycling effort. A primary focus is to examine the effectiveness of various state and local policy instruments. Massachusetts serves as an appropriate context for the study because of its comprehensive solid waste master plan drafted in 1990. This plan establishes a series of statewide recycling targets and outlines the public policies aimed at achieving them. Local governments also are encouraged to design and implement supporting initiatives. Empirical results are generated from 1995 policy data and from 1990 census data on socioeconomic attributes. Among the policy instruments found to influence recycling are unit pricing, curbside recycling services, and municipal grants.