Recycling Is Nonpartisan

While there has been plenty of trash-talking leading up to this year’s mid-term elections, a study commissioned by the Aluminum Can Council’s Curbside Value Partnership (CVP) shows that Democrats and Republicans agree on curbside recycling.  

A recent national survey conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation shows that most Democrats and Republicans are doing their parts to recycle at the curb. In fact, in areas where curbside recycling is available, an overwhelming 70 percent of Democrats and 69 percent of Republicans say they “always” participate. 

“Where pundits and talking heads may find themselves spinning arguments during election time, this survey has found that a surprising number of members of both parties agree that everyday environmentalism happens at home,” Steve Thompson, program director of the CVP, a national program designed to help communities sustain effective recycling programs locally, says. “Who would have thought that both parties could agree on the environment? Granted, it’s not policy we are talking about, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

The survey also found that:

·        When asked how important curbside recycling was to them, Democrats (95 percent) and Republicans (94 percent) answered that it was at least “somewhat important to them,” if not “very” or “extremely important.”

·        Only 2 percent of each party stated that recycling is “not at all important.”

·        More than half of respondents in both parties believe that recycling is their responsibility in order to help the environment.

·        Both parties are united in what they are the most careful about recycling, with newspaper and aluminum cans topping both lists.

·        Democrats are more careful to recycle glass (18 percent) than Republicans (10 percent), and Republicans are more careful to recycle plastic (24 percent) than Democrats (16 percent).

While Republicans and Democrats pretty much agreed on the importance of recycling, there were some small discrepancies in why. Democrats seemed to respond more to the message that “recycling is their responsibility to their children and the environment,” whereas Republicans, while they agree it is their responsibility to the environment, also favor the message that “recycling is just as convenient as throwing something into the garbage.” (Twenty-five percent of Republicans vs. 11 percent of Democrats favor the “convenience” message.)

Of those who said they recycle at the curb, 91 percent of Democrats and 89 percent of Republicans surveyed say that each week their curbside recycling bins are half full or more. Even more significant is the fact that two in 10 surveyed said their bins are overflowing with recyclables every time, which the CVP says is a good argument for larger bins in some communities. 

Created three years ago, the national CVP program is a research-based partnership with communities, haulers, material recovery facilities (MRFs) and other stakeholders to identify solutions to improve curbside recycling programs and to address falling recycling rates.

More information and full survey results are available at www.RecycleCurbside.org.