Green UK
Legislation has also been used to increase and maintain a demand for recycled materials. Four methods of such legislation exist: minimum recycled content mandates, utilization rates, procurement policies, recycled product labeling. Visit City of Edinburgh Council for further information.
Both minimum recycled content mandates and utilization rates increase demand directly by forcing manufacturers to include recycling in their operations (Information from United Kingdom (UK) Freecycle). Content mandates specify that a certain percentage of a new product must consist of recycled material. Utilization rates are a more flexible option: industries are permitted to meet the recycling targets at any point of their operation or even contract recycling out in exchange for tradeable credits. Opponents to both of these methods point to the large increase in reporting requirements they impose, and claim that they rob industry of necessary flexibility. Visit recycle-more for further information.
Governments have used their own purchasing power to increase recycling demand through what are called "procurement policies". These policies are either "set-asides", which earmark a certain amount of spending solely towards recycled products, or "price preference" programs which provide a larger budget when recycled items are purchased. Additional regulations can target specific cases: in the USA, for example, the Environment Agency mandates the purchase of oil, paper, tires and building insulation from recycled or re-refined sources whenever possible.