Discontinuous behavioral responses to recycling laws and plasticwater bottle deposits

Using a nationally representative sample of 3,158 bottled water users, this article finds that both water bottle deposits and recycling laws foster recycling through a discontinuous effect that converts reluctant recyclers into diligent recyclers. The impact of the warm glow from being an environmentalist and an environmental group member is about equal to that of a 5-cent bottle deposit. Respondents from states with stringent recycling laws and bottle deposits have greater recycling rates. The efficacy of these policy interventions is greater for those who do not already recycle, have lower income, and do not consider themselves to be environmentalists. © The Authors 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Law and Economics Association. All rights reserved.

Duke Scholars

Author Joel C. Huber Fuqua School of Business