Why Do We Recycle?: Markets, Values, and Public Policy / Edition 2

Why Do We Recycle?: Markets, Values, and Public Policy / Edition 2

by Frank Ackerman
ISBN-10:
1559635053
ISBN-13:
9781559635059
Pub. Date:
12/01/1996
Publisher:
Island Press
ISBN-10:
1559635053
ISBN-13:
9781559635059
Pub. Date:
12/01/1996
Publisher:
Island Press
Why Do We Recycle?: Markets, Values, and Public Policy / Edition 2

Why Do We Recycle?: Markets, Values, and Public Policy / Edition 2

by Frank Ackerman
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Overview

The earnest warnings of an impending "solid waste crisis" that permeated the 1980s provided the impetus for the widespread adoption of municipal recycling programs. Since that time America has witnessed a remarkable rise in public participation in recycling activities, including curbside collection, drop-off centers, and commercial and office programs. Recently, however, a backlash against these programs has developed. A vocal group of "anti-recyclers" has appeared, arguing that recycling is not an economically efficient strategy for addressing waste management problems.

In Why Do We Recycle? Frank Ackerman examines the arguments for and against recycling, focusing on the debate surrounding the use of economic mechanisms to determine the value of recycling. Based on previously unpublished research conducted by the Tellus Institute, a nonprofit environmental research group in Boston, Massachusetts, Ackerman presents an alternative view of the theory of market incentives, challenging the notion that setting appropriate prices and allowing unfettered competition will result in the most efficient level of recycling. Among the topics he considers are:

  • externality issues — unit pricing for waste disposal, effluent taxes, virgin materials subsidies, advance disposal fees
  • the landfill crisis and disposal facility siting
  • container deposit ("bottle bill") legislation
  • environmental issues that fall outside of market theory
  • calculating costs and benefits of municipal recycling programs
  • life-cycle analysis and packaging policy — Germany's "Green Dot" packaging system and producer responsibility
  • the impacts of production in extractive and manufacturing industries
  • composting and organic waste management
  • economics of conservation, and material use and long-term sustainability
Ackerman explains why purely economic approaches to recycling are incomplete and argues for a different kind of decisionmaking, one that addresses social issues, future as well as present resource needs, and non-economic values that cannot be translated into dollars and cents.

Backed by empirical data and replete with specific examples, the book offers valuable guidance for municipal planners, environmental managers, and policymakers responsible for establishing and implementing recycling programs. It is also an accessible introduction to the subject for faculty, students, and concerned citizens interested in the social, economic, and ethical underpinnings of recycling efforts.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781559635059
Publisher: Island Press
Publication date: 12/01/1996
Edition description: 1
Pages: 222
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Frank Ackerman is the Director of the Research and Policy Program at the Global Development and the Environment Institute at Tufts University.

Ackerman received a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University and a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from Swarthmore College. His current interests include the economics of materials, waste, environmental health, energy and climate change and their relationship with the environment. Ackerman was the co-founder and editor of Dollars & Sense magazine and has also studied the economics of energy and environmental policy at the Tellus Institute in Boston.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
 
Introduction
Chapter 1. Beyond the Trash Can
Chapter 2. Getting the Prices Wrong
Chapter 3. More Than the Market
Chapter 4. A Truck Is a Terrible Thing to Waste
Chapter 5. Drink Boxes, Styrofoam, and PVC
Chapter 6. The Dot Heard around the World
Chapter 7. Bottle Bills, Litter, and the Cost of Convenience
Chapter 8. Organic Waste and the Virtue of Inaction
Chapter 9. The Hidden Utility
Chapter 10. Material Use and Sustainable Affluence
 
Bibliography
Index
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