Analyses of recycling behavior, recycling demand, and effectiveness of policies promoting recycling

This dissertation analyzes the behaviors of recyclers, the demand for drop-off recycling and the effectiveness of policies promoting recycling. The first two essays in this dissertation are based on a survey of drop-off recyclers in the Lansing area in Michigan. The first essay studies the profile of people who utilize drop-off recycling sites and analyzes the factors influencing their site usage. The results show that the usage of drop-off recycling sites is influenced by demographic factors such as age, education, income and household size. Attitudinal factors are also found to affect site usage. Recyclers tend to use the drop-off sites more when they feel that recycling is a convenient activity and when they are more familiar with the sites.;The second essay examines the demand for drop-off recycling sites as a function of travel costs and various site characteristics using the random utility model (RUM). The findings of this essay indicate that increased travel costs significantly reduce the frequency of visits to drop-off sites implying that the usage pattern of a site is influenced by its location relative to where people live. This essay also demonstrate that site specific characteristics such as hours of operation, the number of recyclables accepted, acceptance of commingled recyclables, and acceptance of yardwaste affect the frequency of visits to drop-off sites.;The third essay addresses recycling rates. The effect of various recycling and waste management policy variables on recycling rate is assessed by utilizing a county level panel data from Minnesota. Our estimation procedure takes into account the potential endogeneity of these policy variables. The findings of this essay suggest that variable pricing of waste disposal increases the rate of recycling. Other policy variables such as the enactment of recycling ordinances and cumulative expenditures on recycling education are also found to be effective measures to increase recycling rate.