How much does recycling reduce imports? Evidence from metallic raw materials

Abstract

In countries with limited exhaustible natural resources, reducing imports of raw materials is increasingly viewed as a significant side benefit of waste recycling. Using a panel of 21 developed and developing countries from 1994 to 2008, we seek to measure the size of this benefit by estimating the impact of metal scrap recovery on imports of metallic raw materials. We address the endogeneity of metal recovery with exogenous country characteristics including population density and the level of education. We also develop a strategy for controlling for the price volatility in raw material markets. We find that domestic metal recovery is substituted for imports of secondary raw materials while leaving imports of primary raw materials unaffected. The overall effect is a 3.3% decrease in imports of metallic raw materials when metal recovery grows by 10%. Thus, waste recycling policies may have a sizeable impact on trade balance and on security of raw material supply.