Oct 20, 2020 - Politics & Policy

2020 election's possible impact on recycling

Data: BloombergNEF; Chart: Axios Visuals
Data: BloombergNEF; Chart: Axios Visuals

There are all kinds of ways that a potential Joe Biden presidency would differ from President Trump, and one of them is recycling, per a recent BloombergNEF analysis.

Driving the news: "The issue has received scant attention in the Biden-Trump face-off, but given their larger ambitions, it is possible to predict how the candidates would address it," BNEF said.

  • The chart above is part of a much wider look at policy differences in the election.

How it works: Their analysis of Biden assumes passage of stalled legislation called the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, which they note includes new targets, taxes on waste and requirements on plastic producers.

  • They say Trump has shown "no willingness" to work with Congress on the topic, so the projection under Trump assumes "business as usual" federal policy with additional recycling driven by corporate and state policies.

The intrigue: We don't know what Biden might do using executive authority if there's no legislation, but BNEF expects his administration would be "sympathetic to the objectives" of the bill they modeled.

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