Policies for Strengthening Markets for Recyclables: A Worldwide Perspective

Many national, regional, and local governments have introduced policies to encourage recycling. Their varied experiences allow examination of the effectiveness of alternative policy options. The conditions driving recycling, selection of pro-recycling policies, and recycling statistics are compared for 14 countries across Europe, Asia, North America, South America, and Oceana. The best policy for any particular country is a function of practicality, affordability, and political and social acceptability. National programs with the highest recycling rates typically target both supply and demand through incentives that encourage source separation and recycled content, with regulatory measures used to close loopholes and provide minimum performance requirements.

KEYWORDS:

• global markets
• municipal waste
• packaging

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Funding for this research was provided by the Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF), Alexandria, Virginia. The authors acknowledge contributions from Dr. Namhoon Lee, Visiting Professor, and Jon Williams, a former graduate student in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at NCSU. The research presented here represents the views of the authors but does not necessarily represent the views of the EREF.

Notes

^a Australian packaging companies have voluntarily adopted EPR in an effort to avoid a less flexible government mandated program.

^a The 2001 data did not differentiate between recycling and composting. In 1998, however, Germany had recycling and composting rates of 34% and 7%, respectively [68].

^b The 1999 data for Italy did not include a quantity for incineration. Thus, the 1997 value was used, with the landfill rate being calculated as the remaining fraction.

^c Data for Finland were not available for recycling and composting fractions. The combined fraction was assumed to be the fraction that was not incinerated or landfilled.

^d No data were provided for composting in Japan. Thus, the recycling percentage was assumed to include composting.

^e Hong Kong statistics include municipal, commercial, and industrial waste.

^a N/A; not available.

^b The U.S. plastics packaging recycling rate for PET and HDPE bottles is 40%.

^c The Japanese plastic recycling rate is for PET and HDPE plastic bottles only.

^d The Brazilian plastics recycling rate is for PET bottles only.