Dr. Raymond Robertson is a notable figure in the area of international economics. As a professor and holder of the Helen and Roy Ryu Chair of Economics and Government at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, he has become a thought-leader in his field.
In addition, Dr. Robertson is the Director of the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy at Texas A&M University and has been widely published in various fields, including labor economics and international economics. The Mosbacher Institute was founded to honor the legacy of Bob Mosbacher, who served as Secretary of Commerce under George H.W. Bush.
Dr. Robertson’s journey has brought him to many places including New York, Germany, Mexico City, and to Washington D.C., where he has advised the U.S. State Department on free trade and labor policies.
So, why did Dr. Robertson become interested in Texas’ recycling policies? Partly because of his position in Texas but also because Texas is importing trash from other countries.
“I’m one of the very few international economists that work at Texas A&M,” says Dr. Robertson. “So a lot of the international stuff lands in my lap.”
“Yes. We are. We are importing trash from Canada, Mexico, and even China.”
Dr. Robertson highlighted the paradox of importing trash in Texas when Texas is one of the largest producers of recyclable materials in the nation.
“We are one of the states that does the least recycling. The recycling rate in Texas is only 19% for plastic bottles,” says Dr. Robertson. “So, we are importing trash that is completely unnecessary.”
Since recyclable material in Texas, in most cases, ends up in the landfill, producers who rely on those materials are forced to import them from other countries, including all the way from China.
In 2021, according to a report by the Moshbacher Institute, only 5.2 billion out of the 23.7 billion beverage containers sold in Texas were recycled. The state also missed out on $372.6 million in scrap metal due to inefficient recycling methods.
Instead, trash itself has become a commodity, says Dr. Robertson and like other commodities, there are imports and exports.
“There’s a lot of two-way trade, right?,” says Dr. Robertson. “For example, we send a lot of beer to Australia, and they send a lot of their beer to us.”
Where the trash currently comes from is largely dependent upon cost, says Dr. Robertson. In a lot of instances, Dr. Robertson says that “shipping the trash from other parts of the country to Texas can actually be more expensive than getting it from China or Mexico.”
However, with Texas’ low recycling rates and plenty of materials available to be recycled and used, Dr. Robertson sees this as a missed opportunity.
“Texas doesn’t collect enough recycled bottles in order to meet the demand of Texas bottlers, “ says Dr. Robertson. “There’s a lot of room for improvement.”
One of the potential solutions available to Texas, according to Dr. Robertson, is a bottle deposit refund system (DRS) which has been shown to increase recycling rates by as much as six times.
“One of the main ways to solve this issue is through a bottle deposit refund system,” says Dr. Robertson.
A DRS, sometimes referred to as a “bottle bill,” is a system where consumers pay a small deposit on beverage containers like bottles and cans at the time of purchase, and receive a refund when they return the empty containers to a designated location. While deposit fees vary, they are usually around five to ten cents.
“When you look at the rates in states with deposit refund systems, the differences are dramatic,” says Dr. Robertson. “Recycling rates in these states can exceed 50%.”
In response, Senate Bill 728 (Senator Nathan Johnson) and its House companion, House Bill 2048 (Representative John Lujan), were filed this session to establish a DRS in Texas.
Advocates for the legislation, like Texans for Clean Water, say the DRS can be implemented entirely through the private sector and would require no increase in taxes.
The legislation has drawn a coalition of support industry groups, like the Association of Plastic Recyclers and the Aluminum Association, who could benefit from having more recyclable materials in Texas and from groups, like the Surfrider Foundation, who want to see litter-free beaches and waterways in Texas.
“When we talk about cleaning up rivers and lakes, bottle deposit systems can play a major role,” says Dr. Robertson. “They help prevent containers from ending up in places they shouldn’t be, like in our waterways.”
Dr. Robertson says that the benefits of DRS extend beyond having less litter in Texas, cleaner waterways and beaches, higher recycling rates, and more recyclable materials for reuse purposes.
“Currently, recycling supports nearly 23,000 jobs in Texas alone, with recycling facilities requiring labor, equipment, and resources,” says Robertson. An expansion of recycling would lead to increased jobs and economic activity in Texas.
Another indirect impact of a DRS would be the energy savings, says Dr. Robertson.
“Recycling aluminum, for example, uses 95% less energy compared to producing new aluminum from raw materials,” says Dr. Robertson. “If we can lower energy demand, not only is it better for the environment, but it can also lower costs for factories and consumers.”
For him, it is a simple solution to a complex problem and it works.
“The idea is that a monetary incentive motivates people to return their bottles,” says Dr. Robertson. “This concept isn’t just theoretical; it has been proven effective in various states like Iowa and Maine.”
“It’s time for Texas, and all other states for that matter, to consider adopting this model,” says Dr. Robertson. “The potential benefits for our economy and environment are too great to ignore.”