How Does Political Affiliation in a State Affect Its Recycling Rate of Common Containers and Packaging Materials
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This paper uses data from polling in US Swing states to evaluate the correlation between a state’s affiliation towards the Democratic or republican party and how it affects their CCPM recycling rate. Across the board of top CCPM recycling states, 17 of the states are democratic states, with only one being a republican state (being at number 20). On the flip side, out of the 20 lowest recycling states in terms of CCPM, 14 states are strongly Republican, and only 4 states are Democratic. In the top 20, most states generally have high disposal costs, bottle refund bills, and supporting CCPM legislation; however, in the bottom 20, not a single state has any one of these features (with the exception of Wyoming, having a high disposal cost). Through logistical relationship, we derived a causational relationship between a state turning Republican with a decrease in recycling rate and vice versa. Because the recycling rate is generally dictated by all these factors, it appears that once a state adopts republican affiliations, it tends to place less focus on such factors.
Authors: Binxi Wu, Xinyu Hu
Language: English
Subfield: Waste Management and Disposal
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4410349787