Using an original, nationally representative sample of plastic water bottle users, this article examines the efficacy of policy mechanisms to foster increased recycling. In particular, it examines the impact of the stringency of a state’s laws on the availability of recycling opportunities...

Low probability risks create challenges for individual decisions and potential pressures for government regulation. This article reports original survey evidence regarding the public’s perception and valuation of water-related risks from plastic bottles with BPA, residues in drinking water of...

This paper measures the effects of recycling and deposit laws based on the impact of changes in recycling environments for households that moved between states. Estimates from panel data on 3,902 households who moved provide a quasi-experimental test of effects of deposit laws and recycling laws...

Economic theory predicts that individual recycling behavior gravitates toward extremes--either diligent recycling or no recycling at all. Using a nationally representative sample of 3,158 bottled water users, this article finds that this prediction is borne out for consumer recycling of plastic...