Recycling Development Centers: A Practical Path to Improving Recycling Rates
Improving recycling rates in the United States requires data-driven decision making, expanded infrastructure, and end markets to ensure solutions work. Recycling Development Centers focus on strengthening recycling systems by connecting materials, markets, and investment, particularly in rural regions and underserved communities. Coupled with good policy, Recycling Development Centers tackle plastic waste as an economic issue, which also benefits the environment.
What Is a Recycling Development Center?
A Recycling Development Center is a state-enabled program that strengthens recycling through market development rather than mandates. It brings together public agencies, industry, recyclers, and local governments to grow demand for recycled materials.
The goal: make recycling work by ensuring materials have real value and reliable end markets.
Washington’s Recycling Market Development Center
The State of Washington created the Recycling Market Development Center in 2019 as a partnership between the Department of Ecology and the Washington Department of Commerce.
Market Development
Many communities collect recyclable materials but lack access to nearby processing facilities or end markets. This challenge is especially acute in rural areas, where long transportation distances and limited economies of scale can make recycling cost-prohibitive.
Recycling Development Centers help address these challenges by:
- Increase recycling rates and reduce landfill disposal
- Attracting private investment where it can have the greatest impact
- Supporting innovation that allows more materials to be recycled
- Connecting local governments with manufacturers and recyclers
- Improving education and outreach to increase participation and material quality
Community Specific Solutions
Recycling systems are different in every community. Population density, transportation distances, material streams, and existing infrastructure vary widely across the country.
Recycling Development Centers place a strong emphasis on using local data, rather than guesses, to understand these differences, which allows solutions to be customized to the needs of each jurisdiction, whether that means improving access to collection in rural areas, modernizing processing facilities, or strengthening regional end markets for recycled materials. State and local governments can tailor programs to support local priorities while maintaining a consistent focus on market-based solutions, collaboration, and measurable outcomes.
Benefits for Communities and the Economy
By strengthening local recycling infrastructure through targeted investments, Recycling Development Centers can:
- Increase recycling rates and reduce landfill disposal
- Improve access to recycling services in rural and underserved areas
- Create jobs in recycling, manufacturing, and logistics
- Attract private investment and support domestic manufacturing
Bottom Line
Improving recycling outcomes requires good policies that are practical, scalable, and grounded in evidence.
Recycling Development Centers offer a forward-looking approach by strengthening the foundation of the recycling system to increase recycling rates, expand access, and support a more circular economy nationwide.