Estimating Consumer Willingness to Supply and Willingness to Pay for Curbside Recycling

Abstract

We estimate the willingness to pay for curbside recycling based on a contingent valuation survey of 600 residents of a large southeastern United States city. The best estimate of willingness to pay for curbside recycling is $2.29/month after adjustment for hypothetical bias. We also report the results of a field experiment designed to test the effectiveness of explicit monetary incentives and communication appeals to influence the decision to recycle and the quantity of materials to recycle. While households respond to the monetary cost of recycling, the effects of the token, ex ante incentives and appeals appear to be small. <i>(JEL D61, Q21)</i>