Abstract:
Household recycling is an important means by which social costs of solid waste
disposal may be reduced. These costs include energy and resource costs of collection
and disposal as well as environmental costs from emissions from landfills, incinerators,
and collection vehicles. In this thesis, a household production model is used to represent
the decision faced by the household in determining the level of effort to commit to
recycling activities. The decision regarding the level of effort the household commits to
recycling is hypothesized to be a function of economic variables such as the cost of solid
waste disposal and expenditure on goods for both direct consumption and as inputs into
production in the home, as well as of the demographic characteristics of the household.
Two empirical models are developed, using data collected by the Portland Metro
Association. The first of these models specifies a linear relationship between recycling
behavior and the economic and demographic variables in the model. The second model
is somewhat more complex, making use of the indirect utility function of the household.
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The results of the empirical analysis show that the greater the price change
associated with increasing solid waste disposal volume, the greater the probability that
the household will devote more effort to recycling. As well, the age and education of the
female head of the household and the presence of a child in the home also affect the
households decision to recycle.
Household recycling may be encouraged by municipal planners by using an
escalating price structure for solid waste disposal. Additionally, recycling programs
should emphasize convenience over other considerations such as variety of materials
collected.
