I'm not sure anyone has done the research to determine exactly why it encourages recycling so effectively, they've just collected stats on what bottles end up at recycling facilities, relative numbers of bottles on the ground and in public trashcans (by random sampling), etc. So we know the outcomes, but I don't think we know the causes for sure.
One theory I hold is that a significant part of the difference comes from motivating very poor people who cannot find paid employment to spend part of their time picking up bottles on streets, in parks, and from trash bins on trash day, to turn them in for recycling as a bit of income. But I think that's just part of it. I certainly know plenty of people who hoard deposit bottles at home until they have a chance, once a month, to go turn them in, even though they *do* have curbside recycling, where it would be much more convenient to place the bottles. If the deposits are motivating for them, they are probably at least as motivating for people who don't have curbside recycling, and less than 50% of MA has it. So that's possibly also a significant part of it.
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momijizukamori
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Date: 2014-11-03 03:06 (UTC)One theory I hold is that a significant part of the difference comes from motivating very poor people who cannot find paid employment to spend part of their time picking up bottles on streets, in parks, and from trash bins on trash day, to turn them in for recycling as a bit of income. But I think that's just part of it. I certainly know plenty of people who hoard deposit bottles at home until they have a chance, once a month, to go turn them in, even though they *do* have curbside recycling, where it would be much more convenient to place the bottles. If the deposits are motivating for them, they are probably at least as motivating for people who don't have curbside recycling, and less than 50% of MA has it. So that's possibly also a significant part of it.