Inequality by Design? An Analysis of Policy Design and Inequities in Recycling Program Access

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/vt150k676

Abstract

There is little research on the causal mechanisms that lead to the phenomena of certain groups being disproportionately burdened or excluded from public policy initiatives. One of the areas in which the research is characterized by numerous gaps is that of policy design and the extent to which the design of public policy initiatives affects their outcomes or successes. An example of a time in which certain groups are excluded from public policy initiatives is recycling policy, with nearly half of the population in the United States lacking equitable access to recycling. This research examines not only the extent to which policy design of public policy may contribute to exacerbated inequities in society, but more specifically looks at the extent to which and how recycling programs and recycling policies illustrate the way policy design may lead to those exacerbated inequities (in this case, referring to inequitable access to recycling programs).

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