Pay-as-You-Throw: Cost-Effective & Eco-Friendly Waste Solution, Study notes of Environmental Economics

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Pay-as-you-throw

programs

encourage people

to save money by

recycling and

preventing

waste.

Imagine-a solid

waste solution

that’s good for

the wallet and

helps the

environment.

United States Environmental Protection Agency

Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5305W)

EPA530-F-97- April 1997

Pay-As-You-Throw

A Fact Sheet for Environmental

and Civic Groups

W

hen it comes to manag- ing solid waste, the goal for the past 10 years has been to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Today, thousands of community recycling programs are diverting millions of tons of valuable materials-materials

motivate residents not only to recycle more, but also to think of ways to prevent waste in the first place. They’re called “pay-as-you-throw” programs, and nearly 2,000 communi- ties across the country have begun using them.

that would otherwise be thrown

away-for remanufacturing into What is

useful products. pay-as-you-throw?

Pay-as-you-throw pro- grams, also known as unit-based or

Despite the tremendous growth in recycling, how- ever, waste-generation rates among individuals continue to rise. Most of us don’t give as much thought as we should to reducing the amount of waste that remains after recycling.

One reason for this is we usually have no incentive, beyond a general envi- ronmental concern, to reduce waste. Because individuals in most commu- nities pay for collection and disposal services through property taxes (or, in some cases, through a flat fee), they pay the same amount no matter how much they throw away.

There is a different type of program, however, that communities can use to

variable- rate pricing, provide direct economic incentives for people to reduce the amount of waste they generate. Households are charged for waste collection based on the amount of waste they throw away- in the same way they are charged for electricity, gas, and other utilities. In some communities, pay-as-you- throw is based on volume: residents are charged for each bag or can of waste they generate. A few communi- ties bill residents based on the weight of their trash. Either way, pay-as-you- throw gives everyone an extra push to prevent waste. Pay-as-you-throw connects our environmental concerns with our wallets.