Week of September 8, 1996

by F.R. Duplantier

There are over 7000 curbside recycling programs in the United States, with more than 100 million Americans participating. But do these programs work? And are they cost-effective?

"Americans seem to be having a love affair with recycling," observes writer Harvey Black in a recent issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. "No longer do people simply look for a refuse container to toss away a used soda can or plastic bottle. They search for the right recycling receptacle. All over the United States, when it's time to take out the garbage, millions of people take out carefully sorted bundles of newspapers and cardboard, bags of aluminum and steel cans, and plastic containers -- all destined for recycling."

The question is, does all this extra effort make any sense? In his article, entitled "Rethinking Recycling," which was reprinted by the Heartland Institute as an antidote to Earth Day propaganda, Black reports that "a number of economists and policy analysts have questioned whether the benefits of recycling outweigh the ease of disposing of waste materials in landfills. Critics say that what seems at first to make a great deal of sense doesn't always stand up to a close examination. For instance, some critics argue that collection costs make recycling a bad bargain for many localities because the costs often exceed the prices that the recyclables bring on the open market. They also charge that operating additional trucks to pick up recyclables increases toxic diesel emissions, offsetting any environmental gains."

Black notes that "forms of recycling have been in use in the United States for almost 100 years. At the turn of the century," he observes, "waste paper and rags were used to make new paper when wood pulp was scarce or too expensive. Recycling scrap metal and other materials was an American institution during World War II. And deposits on glass soda bottles in the 1950s and 1960s encouraged people to recycle and reuse them."

These traditional forms of recycling all made economic sense at the time. "When the modern version of recycling began," says Black, "its economics were disastrous in some cases." He explains that "the economics of recycling is a mosaic of issues including collection costs, market demand, landfill costs, and recycling infrastructure and technology. Determining whether recycling makes economic sense involves analyzing these components to see how they fit into the total picture."

Such considerations "may seem complex," concedes Harvey Black, "but they are at least somewhat quantifiable. The health and environmental benefits of recycling -- including energy conservation, toxic emissions reductions, and preservation of resources -- are far more difficult to quantify. Health and environmental benefits are somewhat indirect and are valued differently from individual to individual. Still, advocates of recycling argue that the more intangible benefits offer the most compelling case for recycling." Could it be that they simply don't understand economics, or do they just prefer not to have their efforts measured by an objective standard?

America's Future 7800 Bonhomme St. Louis MO 63105

Phone: 314-725-6003  Fax: 314-721-3373