Household responses to price incentives for recycling: Some further evidence

This paper investigates the role of waste disposal service fees and household characteristics in determining recycling rates and waste generation. Using individual household data from Portland Oregon, we model a multistage household decision process regarding waste generation and recycling effort under a block pricing system, including the choice of container size and reduced-form demand equations for recyclables, non-recyclables, and recycling rate. The choice of container size is not affected by the price of waste disposal services, but within a given container size, households respond to a price increase by increasing recycling to avoid charges for waste generation above contracted volumes. (JEL Q20).