Mandatory recycling is probably more potent in reducing the amount of wastes being disposed of due to increased recycling rate and recovery rate, recovered natural resources and raised public awareness. .
Rise in Recycling Rate and Recovery Rate .
Mandatory recycling contributes to the rise in recycling rate and recovery rate. As stated in a report published by Friends of the Earth in 2008, nearly 60 to 70% of wastes found in dustbins can be recycled and reused and about 50% of them could even be recovered. This shows that a lot of the landfill wastes can actually be avoided. Making recycling mandatory is an effective choice to achieve this. There is a rise in participation. For example, In New Jersey, Hamburg and New York, the participation rate has been soaring from 40% -50% to 95-98% in 1989, showing a significant rise in the recycling rate. (Denison and Huston,1990). According to Ferrara & Paul (2005), making recycling mandatory could approximately increase the likelihood of recycling by 30% in all types of materials. Consequently, mandatory recycling cut down 60% of total waste disposal, if we take Seattle as an illustration as mentioned by Grogan (1992).
Also, contrary to other ways to improve recycling rate, the mandatory one seems to be the most effective method. In 2014, Saphores and Nixon conducted a nationwide investigation on the effects of various policies including mandatory recycling on recycling situation. By probing into the change in recycling rate and recovery rate in the U.S in last 5 years, they discovered the effectiveness figures of mandatory recycling for Aluminum and glass are 2.13 and 3.33 respectively, which are higher than that of deposit "refund programs" (1.80 & 1.61) and unit pricing for garbage disposed (1.05 & 1.09). If the figure is 1, then there is no change in recycling rate. The larger its effectiveness figure is, the more powerful the policy is ( greater rise in recycling rate and recovery rate).
