Alexander "Sasha" Volokh
Solid-waste & recycling policy


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A Brief Guide to Recycled Market Development by Alexander Volokh and Lynn Scarlett, Reason Public Policy Institute, Policy Brief (1998)

Packaging, Recycling, and Solid Waste


by Lynn Scarlett, Richard McCann, Robert Anex, and Alexander Volokh, Reason Public Policy Institute, Policy Study No. 223 (June 1997). The theme: whether recycling produces net social or environmental benefits is a complicated empirical question. There is no "one-size-fits-all" materials-use mandate that will be beneficial across the board; public policy should not force specific levels of recycling, either through mandates or through taxes and fees.
Is Recycling Good Or Bad -- Or Both? by Alexander Volokh and Lynn Scarlett, Consumers' Research, September 1997

Recycling and Deregulation: Opportunities for Market Development


A series of policy studies exploring how to encourage the use of recycled materials through deregulation. (For a super-brief summary, see Charles Oliver's "The Government's War on Recycling" on the Heartland Institute web site.) The series consists of the following three studies (which I list together with summary articles):

1. The FDA vs. Recycling: Has Food Packaging Law Gone Too Far?


Reason Foundation policy study No. 196 (October 1995)
The FDA vs. Recycling: Has Food Packaging Law Gone Too Far? speech delivered at "International Polyester Week," October 7-10, 1996, Jamesburg, N.J.
FDA rules impede recycling Plastics News, May 20, 1996
Food packaging needs speedier FDA OKs Plastics News, May 13, 1996
Vague Food Packaging Laws Hurt Recycling Frozen Food Age, December 1995
Government Regs Slow Recycling Market Growth by Liza Petrush, Recycling Times, November 28, 1995 -- a news article about the policy study

2. Recycling Hazardous Waste: How RCRA has Recyclers Running Around in CERCLAs


Reason Foundation policy study No. 197 (October 1995)
Men of Steel, Regulations of Kleenex: How RCRA has Recyclers Running Around in CERCLAs speech delivered at Gorham/Intertech Consulting's "Steel Mill Wastes and By-Products" conference, June 24-26, 1996, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Environment might benefit by easing waste rule Patriot (Harrisburg, Pa.), May 17, 1996
Can anybody understand our hazardous waste law? Santa Barbara News-Press, January 21, 1996

3. How Government Building Codes and Construction Standards Discourage Recycling


Reason Foundation policy study No. 202 (March 1996)
Recycling and deregulation: Opportunities for market development Resource Recycling, September 1996 -- summarizing the building codes and construction standards policy study
Highway Departments Move Ahead with Performance Standards Privatization Watch, June 1996 -- briefly focusing on highway construction
Deregulation Good For Environment BG News (Bowling Green, Oh.), April 26, 1996 -- a brief summary of the policy study
Bureaucracy Can Be a Barrier to Use of Recycled Materials Plastics News, March 25, 1996 -- an even briefer summary of the policy study, focusing on plastics
Standards Discriminate Against Recycling, According to Reason Foundation Study by Katherine Egan, Recycling Times, April 2, 1996 -- a news article about the policy study
Materials: Recycling Holds Promise by William G. Krizan, ENR (Engineering News-Record), September 30, 1996 -- a news article about hurdles faced by manufacturers of innovative building materials

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