The Recycled Content of Plastic Products: Estimating the Impact of Japan's Container and Packaging Recycling Law

Hirotaka Kumamaru (kumamaru12@stu.kobe-u.ac.jp) and Kenji Takeuchi
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Hirotaka Kumamaru: Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University

No 2119, Discussion Papers from Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University

Abstract: This study investigates the impact of Japan's recycling legislation on the usage of recycled materials in the production process of primary plastic products. By employing a difference-in-differences approach, we examine whether the recycled content of primary plastic products increased after the implementation of the Container and Packaging Recycling Law (CPR Law) in Japan. The results suggest that the usage of recycled plastics doubled and the usage of recycled plastics per plastic product increased by 1% after the implementation of the law. Meanwhile, the use of virgin plastic materials, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and vinyl chloride, per plastic product decreased by 3% on average. These results suggest that the CPR Law helped shift inputs from virgin plastics to recycled plastic materials, although the size of the impact is small. To promote the use of recycled plastic materials further, policy interventions should directly incentivize producers to increase recycled content.

Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2021-07
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