HOUSEHOLD WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR DROPOFF RECYCLING

Increased landfilling costs and state-mandated reductions in municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal have combined to increase interest in recy cling as an MSW management option. Most benefit-cost analyses, however , focus solely on urban curbside recycling programs and/or fail to inc lude the benefits which accrue to households from the opportunity to r ecycle. This study focuses on the economic feasibility of dropoff recy cling in rural areas, presenting estimates of household willingness to pay (WTP) for dropoff recycling in a rural/suburban area of Tennessee . Using contingent valuation, the most conservative mean household WTP is near $4.00 per household per month.