Journal of Pollution Effects & Control
Open Access
ISSN: 2375-4397
+44 1223 790975
ISSN: 2375-4397
+44 1223 790975
Qian Bi
College of Economics and Management,
Beibei, Chongqing 400716
China
Research Article
Recycling on Semi-subsistence Farms: Household vs. Farm Factors
Author(s): Qian Bi, Zandi Chen and Steven BuccolaQian Bi, Zandi Chen and Steven Buccola
As with food production, waste management on semi-subsistent farms is a joint outcome of household-specific and farm-specific resources. It is useful therefore to analyze waste-disposal decisions with this jointness in mind. We do so here with a sample of Chinese farms. Attention is given to five distinct types of waste: packaging materials, manure, wastewater, plastic mulch, and straw. We find farm recycling to intensify as household cash income, farm manager’s age and education, and farm workforce size expand. Recycling declines however as the number of dependents and farm cultivable area enlarge. Put differently, waste management improves as the family’s labor and capital resources grow, but deteriorate if landholdings expand while capital and labor resources do not. The small family farm’s recycling behavior, in short, appears to be entirely rational. Specificall.. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2375-4397.1000166