NERC | Northeast Recycling Council

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Recycling Economic Information Project:
Final Report, April 1998

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Overview
1.2. Report Organization

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2. THE NEED FOR A STUDY OF THE U.S. RECYCLING AND REUSE INDUSTRIES
2.1. Types and Uses of Economic Information
2.2. Shortcomings of Currently Available Information
2.3. Goals and Intended Uses of the Study

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3. RECOMMENDED METHODOLOGY FOR CONDUCTING THE STUDY
3.1. Overview of the Recommended Methodology
3.2. Recommendations for Recycling and Support Businesses
3.3. Recommendations for Reuse Businesses
3.4. Recommendations for Using Economic Models
3.5. Clarification of Key Implementation Issues
3.6. Estimated Time line and Costs to Implement the Methodology
3.7. Additional Recommendations

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4. JUSTIFICATION FOR THE TYPES OF INFORMATION TO BE OBTAINED

4.1. Overview of Information Priorities
4.2. Information Obtained in Past Studies 4.3. Summary of a Survey of Potential Study Users
4.4. Defining Value Added and Other Data Types

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5. JUSTIFICATION FOR THE TYPES OF RECYCLING AND REUSE BUSINESSES COVERED IN THE STUDY
5.1. Overview of the Business Categories Included
5.2. Business Categories Included in Past Studies
5.3. Definition of Recycling and Reuse Activities
5.4. Drawing Consistent Boundaries for Each Material and Product Type
5.5. Scrap Materials and Used Products Included

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6. JUSTIFICATION FOR THE RECOMMENDED APPROACHES TO OBTAIN ECONOMIC INFORMATION
6.1. Overview
6.2. Republishing Data Obtained from Existing Information Sources
6.3. Coordinating with Existing Survey Programs
6.4. Developing a Database of Business Establishments and Conducting New Surveys
6.5. Using Desk-Top Extrapolation Techniques
6.6. Using Economic Models
6.7. Evaluation of Information Gathering Options for Each Business Category

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APPENDICES

A. DESCRIPTION OF RECYCLING AND REUSE BUSINESS CATEGORIES

B. A REVIEW OF POTENTIAL SOURCES OF RECYCLING ECONOMIC INFORMATION
B.1. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census
B.2. Other Federal Agencies
B.3. State Economic Data Agencies
B.4. State Recycling Agencies
B.5. Industry Associations
B.6. Non-Profit Organizations and Universities
B.7. Periodicals and Regularly Published Reports
B.8. Private Financial Data Companies
B.9. Additional References and Bibliographies

C. SOURCES OF DIRECTORIES AND DATABASES LISTING RECYCLING AND REUSE BUSINESSES

D. SUMMARY OF A SURVEY OF POTENTIAL STUDY USERS
D.1. Overview
D.2. Summary of Survey Results
D.3. Survey Form

E. CONSULTANT REPORT: ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH DETERMINING VALUE ADDED AND THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF RECYCLING INDUSTRIES IN THE UNITED STATES

F. PRIVATE BUSINESS DATA SOURCES

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Examples of Types and Uses of Economic Information 7
Table 3.1 Recommendations for Limited Data Collection Approaches Covering Recycling Collection and Support Businesses 14
Table 4.1 Results of Data Users Survey 27
Table 5.1 List of Recycling and Reuse Business Establishments Included in the Recommended Methodology 31
Table 5.2 Examples of Scrap Materials and Used Products Included 35
Table 6.1 Approaches for Obtaining Economic Information on Each Business Category 42
Table A.1 Descriptions of Industry Segments and Business Categories of the Recycling and Reuse Industries
Table C.1 Sources of Directories and Databases Listing Recycling and Reuse Businesses
Table D.1 Results of Data Users Survey

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