Research Proposal Letter - Essay Example

Recycling Program Research Letter Dear Steven Chu, I’m writing to you to campaign for the introduction of a mandatory national curbside recycling program to reduce the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) the American public disposes of. Williams et al (2003) dictate that waste management has become a serious priority for governments around the world over the past 15 years because we are running out of land and resources to continuously live our high consumption lifestyles. The US Environmental Agency (EPA) indicates that the overall bulk of MSW from 1980 to 2005 rose by 60% to over 255 million tons per year.

However, the number of local curbside recycling programs has also increased from 8,875 in 2002 to over 9,000 today, which has led to a 8 million ton reduction in MSW. This indicates that recycling schemes are effective in reducing disposal rates. However, in 2009 only 82 million tons of this total waste was composted or recycled (33.8%). Baksi and Long (2009) therefore claim that effective waste management strategies are crucial if the US government is to: reduce the amount of household waste being disposed of in land fill sites promote the conservation of natural resources though reducing use of virgin materials increase the amount of household waste being recycled maintain public support decrease the levels of environmental damage caused by landfill sites I therefore believe that recycling issues need to gain serious priority on the government’s agenda and I recommend introducing disposal fees such as ‘unit based pricing systems’ for financing residential trash collection.

This is because at the moment many households have zero economic incentive to recycle because they pay for their waste collection and disposal services through general taxation and a fixed rate, thereby undervaluing the price of waste disposal. Under my proposed scheme, residents would pay a $1 charge per trash bag households dispose of, which would hopefully encourage more people to recycle to avoid this fee. Houtven and Morris (1999) conducted a similar scheme, and observed that households reduced their MSW by 51%.

They also found recycling rates increased by 18%. I therefore believe that this is a feasible solution because the introduction of recycling facilities would be profitable and promote long-term sustainable waste management practices. Taylor (2000) lists a series of other financial methods to encourage recycling including; 1. Public Subsidies – introduction of government grants to encourage waste reduction, diversion and other sustainable waste management policies. 2. Product Charge – known as ‘advanced disposal fees’, which are designed to off set the environmental damages items such as batteries and motor oil has on the environment.

Also known as the ‘polluter pays principle’, in which those who make the products are taxed for the potential environmental damage their products will cause. 3. Deposit Refund System – simultaneously involves taxes (point of purchase) and subsidies (returning products), e.g. $0.25 charge at the point of purchase on plastic bottles, but once customers return their bottles to the store they get a green tax refund. However, there are a series of counterarguments regarding ‘unit based pricing systems’.

Firstly, revenues and cash flows to local authorities become less certain due to the varying levels of household waste produced per week, which might strain waste resources. I propose alternative weeks for waste collection to address this problem, in which recycling waste would be collected one week, and then general MSW would be collected the other week. Implementing fees on waste collection could also result in the illegal dumping of waste to avoid additional charges. To address these problems, I suggest conducting an awareness campaign to highlight the benefits of recycling, and the harmful effects fly-tippling and general MSW disposal has on the environment.

Implementing higher fly tipping fines, and providing other means of disposing waste, such as creating local authority departments specifically designed to collect and dispose of big items such as ovens, fridges, etc could also help reduce fly tipping. There is also an argument that ‘unit based pricing systems’ are socially regressive. For example, low income families generally live in smaller houses, have more children and have less storage space, which increases the amount of waste they produce, forcing them to pay more fees to have their waste collected.

I recommend the government sets up a scheme providing additional financial support for low-income families to address this potential problem. However, implementing new schemes to increase recycling rates is only part of the problem; engaging the public to participate effectively in them is of major concern to many local authorities (Williams, 2003). Local authorities thus play a key role in promoting and ensuring higher levels of recycling through raising environmental awareness and educating the public about the benefits of recycling, and most importantly, providing recycling facilities.

Therefore, I believe that recycling facilities must be easily accessible, convenient, simplified (being able to throw all recycling materials into the same bin), easy to participate in and involve the minimum amount of time to encourage more people to recycle. In order to encourage people to recycle Taylor (2000) suggests a ‘foot in the door technique’. This technique introduces people slowly to the concept of recycling, e.g. recycling drink cans for a week, and then over time it gradually increases their recycling behavior, e.g. they start to recycle several different items such as newspapers, glass bottles, food packaging, etc.

Taylor (2000) believes that strategies like this are likely to not only increase, but also maintain people’s recycling behavior. Throughout this letter, I’ve highlighted the growing problems America faces due to the amount of MSW we unsustainably dispose of. Immediate and direct actions are therefore needed to promote recycling. I believe introducing financial incentives and fines, integrated with improved access and convenience of recycling facilities, such as curbside collections would encourage more households to recycle and reduce MSW disposal rates.

You must also try and raise people’s environmental awareness through effective education programs in order for them to develop an eco-centric perspective and values towards sustainable waste management issues. Bibliography Baksi, S and Long, N (2009) ‘Endogenous Consumer Participation and the Recycling Problem.’ Austrilian Economic Papers. Blackwell Publishing. Environmental Protection Agency (2009). Accessed on 8th May 2011. Available at http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/United_States_Recycling_Statistics Houtven, G and Morris, G (1999) ‘Household Behavior Under Alternative Pay-As-You-Throw Systems for Solid Waste Disposal.

’ Land Economics (75) 4 pp 515-537. Taylor, D (2000) ‘Policy incentives to Minimize Generation of Municipal Solid Waste’ Waste Management and Research. Sage Publication. Available at http://wmr.sagepub.com/content/18/5/406 Williams, D and Kelly, J (2003) ‘Green Waste Collection and the Publics Recycling Behaviour in the Borough of Wyre, England.’ Resources, Conservation and Recycling (2) pp 139-160.