10.2190/7P3V-FXDW-705D-NMHP 7P3VFXDW705DNMHP 2 An Analysis of the Potential Effect of Beverage Container Deposit Legislation on Municipal Recycling Programs 241 267 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 7P3VFXDW705DNMHP.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=7P3VFXDW705DNMHP 3 W. B. Clapham Cleveland State University One argument used both for and against beverage container deposit legislation is its role in benefitting or retarding recycling. Using a computer simulation model for several model communities, this article analyzes the effect of deposit legislation on municipal recycling programs, with net benefit to the community's solid waste management system as the "bottom line." Deposit legislation does reduce the net benefit of recycling programs <i>per se</i>, but it is unlikely to cause severe damage to a recycling program with an adequate resource base. The net benefit to the community is substantially higher when both beverage container deposit legislation and active recycling programs are in place. Thus, the two complement each other and should be seen as compatible tools both for maximizing the results of expenditures for municipal solid waste management and for improving litter control. W. B. Clapham, Jr., <i>The Municipal Recycling Computer Model</i>, 1984, in press. W. K. Moore and D. L. Scott, Beverage Container Deposit Laws: A Survey of the Issues and Results, <i>Journal of Consumer Affairs, 17</i>, pp. 57-80, 1983. D. Waggoner, The Oregon Bottle Bill — What It Means to Recycling, <i>Compost Science</i>, pp. 10-13, September/October 1976. R. C. Porter, Michigan's Experience with Mandatory Deposits on Beverage Containers, <i>Land Economics, 59</i>, pp. 177-194, 1983. D. Rose, National Beverage Container Deposit Legislation: A Cost-Benefit Analysis, <i>Environmental Systems Journal, 12</i>, pp. 71-84, 1982. Office of Technology Assessment, <i>Materials and Energy from Municipal Waste: Resource Recovery and Recycling from Municipal Solid Waste and Beverage Container Deposit Legislation</i>, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1979. B. J. Skinner, <i>Earth Resources</i>, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1976. J. M. Jeffords and D. W. Webster, Vermont 5 Cents Deposit, mimeographed report available from the Office of Congressman Jeffords, 1977. W. B. Clapham, Jr., <i>Recycling and Municipal Solid Waste Management</i>, Cooperative Extension Service, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 1983. General Accounting Office, <i>States' Experience with Beverage Container Deposit Laws Shows Positive Benefits</i>, General Accounting Office Report PAD-81-08, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 1980. N. Seldman, Community Development and Recycling, <i>Resource Recycling, 3</i>:1, pp. 34-35, 1984. Bechtel, Inc., <i>Solid Waste Resource Recovery Facility, Phase II Report</i>, Cuyahoga County Commissioners, Office of the Sanitary Engineer, Cleveland, Ohio, 1980. W. B. Clapham, Jr., <i>Introduction to the Recycling Computer Model</i>, Office of Litter Control, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Columbus, Ohio, 1984, in press.