Economical and Ethical Issues in RecyclingEconomic Issues
There is a general agreement that the U.S. should be undertaking more recycling, with only 34.3% of current waste recycled. The rate is increasing, and while there have been legislative moves, it may be argued that the ethical awareness and economic factors have had a greater impact. The research proposal argues that the dualistic approach to recycling seen in the anthropocentric model can be used to show how and why the take up has been restrained, as there is a need for economic motivations to support the practice. These are now occurring, but there is still room for improvement. By undertaking quantitative research with businesses and consumers the paper proposes the gathering of information that can be statistically analysed to identify the most efficient policy approaches to improve recycling.
Introduction
The level of waste generated in increasing; it is estimated that in the U.S. approximately 254.1 million tonnes of waste were generated in 2013 (Statista, 2016b). It is estimated that this equates to 4.3 pounds of waste every day for each person (Duke University, 2016). The impact of this waste is tremendous, in 2008 it waste estimated that methane generated from municipal landfill sites accounted for 22% of the countries methane emissions (Duke University, 2016). However, while it is a problem, it has not gone unrecognised; there has been increasing emphasis placed on a on the value and importance of recycling (Gandy, 2014). The increased awareness and change has been supported by increasing levels of legislation and regulation mandating waste reduction and recycling measures (Ackerman, 2013). However, while these measures are having an impact, it has been the ethical and economic issues which have the greatest impact. In recent years the level of recycling has increased; in 1960 only 6.4% of municipal waste was recycled, this rose to 16% in 1990, 28.5% in 2000 and 34.3% in 2013 (Statista, 2016a). A key aspect of recycling is the way in which consumers sort and provide waste in a manner which may be recycled, and the recycling facilities and services which are commercially available (Sarmaniotis & Tilikidou, 2000).
This paper looks at the issues which are impacting on the practice of recycling, looking at the ethical and economic impacts, to assess which are most likely to have an influence on the way recycling takes place, which may also indicate the areas of policy and practice which may be targeted if recycling measures are to...
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