Subsidies That Hurt Paper Recycling The Issue Some government policies effectively subsidize other packaging materials and hurt paper recycling. Our Position The government should not create incentives or grant subsidies for competing, but less environmentally preferable, uses of recyclable materials, including the burning of recyclable paper for one-time energy recovery. Our Approach In response to a perceived landfill “crisis,” some governments have tilted the playing field toward materials that weigh less, because the materials going to landfills are measured by weight. In some cases, for example, these policies have given packaging materials like plastic a market advantage over paper products, effectively subsidizing non-paper products. These policies are wrong for our economy and our environment. Landfills fill up because of the mass or volume of material placed in them, not the weight of the material. Subsidizing one type of packaging material over another simply based on the product’s weight distorts the true economics of recycling.