Recycling legislation has become an important component of successful recycling programs. Oregon is one of the first states to legislate recycling in 1991 with the Opportunity to Recycle act. This legislation was drafted with a closed loop system in mind. The legislation not only mandates collection systems, but also markets and government purchasing as well.

   Though legislation is an important tool in supporting the institutionalization of recycling programs, it's implementation is dependent upon the support and desire of folks willing to work towards a law's success. By just having a law, doesn't guarantee the success of recycling. Laws of this genre must be accompanied by incentives and consequences to support the action the law is mandating. You can utilize laws as a tool for establishing a recycling program at your university but it is more powerful coming as a mandate from your state system of higher education. Find out if your state has a recycling law and utilize it to support your efforts in establishing, implementing and augmenting your recycling efforts. Laws that require reporting are also helpful in supporting materials tracking. This is a worthwhile but laborious process that requires administrative support. Tracking materials, performing cost benefit analyses and legislative compliance are very powerful tools in establishing and maintaining recycling efforts.

   There are several states with recycling laws. If we haven't listed it here, please contact us at: recycle@uoregon.edu and send us some links so we can add your state to our list. Additionally, working to create national laws is also an important piece of this support. State laws can only do so much. National laws have an opportunity to effect the markets in a much broader manner then state laws.