A number of disincentives to recycling have been frequently, especially in analyses sponsored by EPA in the late 1970's, as impeding the expansion of materials recovery. The most commonly cited examples include the tax code, federal subsidies for natural resource development, trade policies and discriminatory freight rates.
Earth Track's submitted comments on the National Academy of Sciences' upcoming analysis on the effects of the federal tax code on greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions. The comments cover a variety of issues on subsidy valuation and presentation that have arisen during more than twenty years of work in this area. Issues addressed include subsidy valuation, econometric modeling of subsidy reform, what types of tax policies warrant consideration, and which sectors of the economy should be included. In each area, recommended approaches are provided.
Reviewed options for the state of California to more effectively align incentives for brownfields redevelopment and to identify financial tools that would help achieve land reclamation.
Prepared with Industrial Economics, Inc. for the US EPA's Office of Planning, Analysis, and Accountability and the Office of Solid Waste. April 2003.
Prepared with the National Policy Workgroup of the National Recycling Coalition. September 1999. Analysis identifies and quantifies a number of direct and indirect subsidies that put recycled materials at a disadvantage to virgin materials.
Published in Waste News Op-Ed, August 6, 2001. A host of new subsidies to converting a wide variety of biomass-based wastes into energy were proposed in legislation during 2001; many of these policies are in the newest energy bills before Congress again during 2003.
Prepared while at Industrial Economics, for the Office of Policy Planning and Evaluation, US EPA, October 1996. Pat Bradley of the Office of Water and Robert Benson of the Office of Policy Planning and Evaluation served as project managers. Also available through EPA.
Published in Resource Recycling, November 1994. Detailed assessment of how federal subsidies to the Bonneville Power Administration reduce the price of primary aluminum and with it the incentive to recycle the metal. The article estimated that the resulting undervaluation of embedded energy savings in aluminum scrap comprised between 7 and 18 percent of the scrap price.
Prepared for the National Recycling Coalition, 2001.