ECNS 594
Current Issues in Economics
THE TRUTH ABOUT
RECYCLING
HOLLY FRETWELL
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY,
ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR
PERC, RESEARCH FELLOW
Museum of the Rockies, Harry H.janke board room
June 20, 2013 (6:30-8pm)
WHY
RECYCLE?
- Moral imperative or
- resource conservation?
Available at: PERC.org
Holly L. Fretwell
Note: Data collection by Dan Benjamin, reused with permission.
Reference to PERC PS No 47, 2010. Any errors or omissions are my
own.
MOBRO 4000 (1987)
(AKA, THE GARBAGE BARGE)
Why Recycle?
GARBAGE (RUBBISH/TRASH): A BY-
PRODUCT OF PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION
- Dump it (landfill)
- Burn it (incinerate)
- Recycle it (re-use, remanufacture)
RESOURCE OR RUBBISH?
Rubbish (waste): an undesirable byproduct of production or consumption.
Resource: an item that provides value
for use – where the
costs of reuse < value added by reuse
Resource or Rubbish?
Yes
(recycle)
High
Transportation
Cost
Yes
(reuse)
+
-
Resource
Rubbish
if cost > value
+
-
High
Labor Cost
If dirty
if opportunity
cost > value
No
(hazardous
waste)
-
Resource
Rubbish
Rubbish
Fact or Fiction?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Are we running out of landfill space?
Is our trash poisoning us?
Does packaging waste resources?
Must firms be mandated to decrease packaging?
Are we are running out of resources?
Does recycling save resources? (e.g. recycling paper
saves trees)
7. Is recycling beneficial for the environment?
8. Do recycling mandates enhance efficiency of resource use?
(e.g., is curbside recycling pick up a low cost method to
recycle?)
RECYCLING MYTHS
1.
Our trash will bury us.
•
Are we running out of landfill space?
Are We Running Out of Landfill Space?
9000
8000
Number of Landfills
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.: Data not available.
Source: Number of landfills from: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/basicinfo.htm; National average tipping fees from:
http://www.environmentalistseveryday.org/docs/Tipping-Fee-Bulletin-2005.pdf.
Are We Running Out of Landfill Space?
7000
$40.00
$39.48
$37.20 $36.59
6,
32
5,
6
8
5, 12
38
6
8000
$45.00
7,
68
3
7,
7, 924
37
9
9000
$34.39
$36.31
$35.43
$35.00
$31.86
6000
$13.30
4,
48
2
$20.00
2,
00
9
$17.33
$25.00
1,
75
4
2000
$24.88
3,
3, 558
1
3, 97
0
91
2,
51
2, 4
2, 314
2
1, 16
9
1, 67
1, 858
76
7
Number
5000
of
4000
Landfills 3000
$30.00
$28.58
1000
0
N.A.
(adjusted for
inflation;
$10.00
real 2005
$5.00
dollars)
$15.00
N.A.$0.00
19
19 85
86
19
19 88
19 89
19 90
19 91
19 92
19 93
19 94
19 95
19 96
19 97
19 98
20 99
20 00
20 01
20 02
20 03
20 04
20 05
20 06
20 07
20 08
20 09
20 10
11
N.A.
Average
Tipping
Fee per
Ton
N.A.: Data not available.
Source: Number of landfills from: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/basicinfo.htm; National average tipping fees from:
http://www.environmentalistseveryday.org/docs/Tipping-Fee-Bulletin-2005.pdf.
RECYCLING MYTHS
1.
Our trash will bury us.
2.
Our trash will poison us.
•
Cancer Risk from 70 year land fill exposure
1 in 10 billion (~1 every 50 years)
•
Cancer Risk of 1 in 1 million for:
•
•
•
smoking 1.4 cig/yr
travel 300 mi by car/10 by bike
live 2 days in Boston
Recycling Myths
1.
Our trash will bury us.
2.
Our trash will poison us.
3.
Packaging wastes resources.
4. Should Firms be mandated to decrease packaging?
RECYCLING MYTHS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Our trash will bury us.
Our trash will poison us
Packaging wastes resources
Firms must be mandated to decrease packaging
We’re running out of resources
It’s not the input (metal, oil, gas. . . )
that we want,
rather what it does for us!
RESOURCE OR RUBBISH?
http://www.benefits-of-recycling.com/aluminumrecyclingprices.html
Aluminum Recycling Prices / The Stats
One of the most common statistics stated about aluminum
recycling is that Americans throw away enough aluminum every
three months to rebuild the entire national commercial air fleet.
Imagine that amount of wasted resource! This makes it
obvious and imperative that recycling saves natural resources. . .
This statement is:
True. Just because you can make something else
with the material does not mean it saves
resources to re-use it.
False.
It is only a resource if the benefit of re-use is
equal to or outweighs the cost at the margin.
RECYCLING MYTHS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Our trash will bury us.
Our trash will poison us
Packaging wastes resources
We’re running out of resources
Recycling saves resources and protects the
environment
Does recycling paper saves trees?
RECYCLING MYTHS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Our trash will bury us.
Our trash will poison us
Packaging wastes resources
We’re running out of resources
Recycling saves resources and protects the
environment
6.
Do recycling mandates enhance efficiency of
resource use? (e.g., is curbside recycling pick
up a low cost method to recycle?)
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
July 17, 2011
WHEN DOES RECYCLING MAKE SENSE?
-Commercial level
-When uses less energy & raw materials than primary
manufacturing
- Firms will realize the cost saving
-Where MSB ≥ MSC
RUBBISH OR RESOURCE?
Rubbish (waste): an undesirable by-product of
production or consumption.
Resource: an item that provides value for use
– where the
costs of reuse < value added by reuse.
economically speaking:
where MSC ≤ MSB
WHY DO YOU RECYCLE . . . OR DO YOU?
Fretwell