United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5306W)
EPA530-N-00-005
Summer 2000
www.epa.gov/payt
SEPA
A Listing of Pay-As-You-Throw News and Events
P
4
T
B U
I N
Berkeley, California's,
RAYT program has
been going strong for
30 years.
Forest, Ohio,
increased recycling by
350 percent and
decreased solid waste
by 45 percent with its
PAYT program.
PAYT helped Fort
Collins, Colorado,
boost its recycling
participation rate from
60 to 83 percent.
With the help of PAYT,
Reading, Pennsylvania,
has the highest
curbside recycling rate
in the state.
iw ilmington. North
Carolina's, switch to
PAYT prompted a 10
"percent increase in
recycling and 40
percent increase in
yard debris collection.
Massachusetts Makes
PAYT a Priority
or years, the West Coast has been the PAYT leader, but recently New England has
started gaining ground. Nowhere is the trend more evident than in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. With more than 95 communities with PAYT pro-
grams, including more than 30 established in the past 5 years, Massachusetts has proven itself
a leader in providing its towns and cities with the resources they need to implement unit-
based pricing.
The Workshop Way
In a more targeted effort to encourage com-
munities to switch to PAYT, Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
began offering PAYT workshops in 1995. DEP
holds four half-da]/- workshops a year in the south-
of the state. DEP targets Board of Selectmen
members, department of public works directors,
recycling staff, advisory committee members, land
any other interested parties. The workshops include discussions on full cost accounting and
setting rates, as well as roundtable sessions to address specific issues participants may have. In
2000, DEP hopes to hold a workshop covering PAYT strategies for municipalities with popu-
lations of 200,000 and more.
Give Them cm Incentive
As landfills began reaching capacity and new ones were prohibited, Massachusetts, like
many other states, needed to find a way to encourage source reduction and recycling. In
1995, the Massachusetts DEP began the Municipal Recycling Incentive Program (MRIP),
which provides performance-based grants to municipalities. The program, which is designed
to increase recycling and stimulate demand for recycled products, awards $8 per ton to
Printed on paper that contains at least 30 percent postconsumor fiber.
Continued on Page 2
-------
Continued front front cover
curbside recycling programs and $4 per ton for drop-off
programs. To participate in the program, communities
must meet a set of minimum requirements and elective
criteria covering recycling participation, access to recycling
and composting programs, and purchase of recycled-con-
icnt products. If a municipality has a unit-based pricing
program, however, it is only required to meet the buy
recycled criteria.
Success Speaks for Itself
Frequently, the best way to spread the word about the
benefits of PAYT is to let the program speak for itself.
Massachusetts has noticed a "cluster effect" often occurs
soon after one community implements a PAYT program.
In southeastern Massachusetts, Seekonk switched to a unit
pricing system in 1992. In the course of 8 years, seven
surrounding communities also launched PAYT programs,
and two more are imminent.
"People see the results and think, 'If they could do that
there, why can't we do it here?'" relates Joseph Lambert,
recycling and solid waste planner at Massachusetts DEP.
"When a dialogue on PAYT starts on a local and personal
level, thai am be the best outreach strategy there is."
Massachusetts has found the cluster effect can even span
swie borders, Communities in Rhode Island and New
Hampshire have begun PAYT programs after adjacent
Massachusetts communities made the switch.
Is It Really Successful?
Is PAYT really working in Massachusetts? The answer
is a resounding "yes!" From fiscal year 1999 to fiscal year
2000, North Attleborough decreased its tonnage disposed
by 44 percent, Royalston by 42 percent, and Needham by
41 percent. Recycling rates increased significantly in
PAYT communities listed in the table below.
Community
JUkcville
Merrinuc
' Hninton
i'Wnviilc- •
Recycling Rate
Before PAYT (%)
•24
14
25
20
Recycling Rate
After 1 Year (%)
54
37
34
29
PAYT is everywhere—the East Coast, West Coast, and
all points in between! Following are summaries of a
few successful PAYT programs and the issues they
have faced.
California
Continuing
to ........ Improve
"~""! ...... ..... ............ ....... ™"™~ " ..... T""""
Berkeley, California (population
105,000), is no stranger to PAYT,
enjoying its benefits since the
1970s. These days, Berkeley is working to
improve its PAYT program by moving from an "~"~~
annual billing cycle, included in citizens' tax bills, to a
quarterly waste collection bill. This billing shift will allow
citizens to more cjearly see the connection between the
amount they pay for waste collection and die amount of
waste collected each quarter. Another future improvement
will offer lower rates to households that source separate
their waste.
Under a variable rate system, Berkeley's citizens pay
about $6.50 for a 13-gallon container, $15.00 for a 32-
gallon container, $30 for a 64-gallon container, or $45.00
for a 96-gallon container, which can be collected as often
as diree times a week. Berkeley's program also includes
recycling collection once a week and yard waste collection
twice a week. For more information on Berkeley's PAYT
program, contact Tanya Levy'ait 510 644.8891;Ext. 231
Making It Better in
Fort Collins
A PAYT program helped a
Colorado city boost an already
impressive recycling rate. In
the 3 years following Fort Collins'
(population 114,000) switch to PAYT in 1996, its recy-
cling participation rate jumped from 60 to 83 percent.
Adding to its success, Fort Collins decreased waste collec-
tion by approximately 8,000 tons from 1995 to 1999,
even though die city is experiencing an annual 4 percent
growth in population.
2 PATT Bulletin
-------
Households in Fort Collins choose from among six
waste collection haulers, who each offer a different type of
service. In the past, due to the competitive nature of the
market, haulers were not enforcing compliance with
PAYT for fear of losing customers. If a customer, for
example, left out an extra bag or can without paying for
it, haulers were likely to collect it anyway. To combat this
problem, the city recently amended the PAYT ordinance
to state that the city will litigate any hauler operating out
of compliance. Haulers now have a disincentive toi collect
extra trash set out by their customers. For more informa-
-tion on Fort Collins' PAYT program, contact Susie—
Gordon at 970 221-6265.
Keeping If Simple Is the
Key to Success
The National Recycling Coalition
recently honored Forest, Ohio (pop-
ulation 1,600), for its rural recycling
program that increased recycling by 350
percent and decreased solid waste by 45
percent. The city started a multi-tiered PAYT program in
October 1998 to counteract the rising costs of solid waste
management, and the program has been a big success.
Keeping the program simple and educating the communi-
ty prior to its inception were the keys to successful! imple-
mentation. Every household pays $10 per month and
receives two 30-gallon bags each week Each additional
bag collected requires a $1 sticker. Before PAYT, die city
did not have curbside recycling, and its recycling rate was
^lessthan 10 percent. For more information, contact
Charles Brunkhardt at 419 273-2500. j
I
Education Encourages
PAYT in
Wilmington
The Solid Waste Department
of "Wilmington, North Carolina
(population 70,000), goes to great lengths
to educate its community about the benefits of PAYT.
When PAYT was introduced as a pilot program in 1992,
the community expressed concerns that the program
would affect the city's cleanliness and lead to increased
illegal dumping. To combat these concerns, the Solid
Waste Department initiated PAYT information cam-
paigns, utilizing local newspapers and radio and television
programs. Neighborhood meetings and focus groups
involving Wilmington citizens were also effective ways to
gather community support.
Today, more than 21,000 households in the
Wilmington area take advantage of the PAYT program.
Under a variable rate billing system, citizens use either 90-
gallon or 40-gallon roll-out carts for weekly waste collec-
"tioTirFor larger households that produce more waste,
biweekly pickup or individually purchased stickers for
occasional overflow are available.
Wilmington's adoption of PAYT prompted a 10 per-
cent increase in its recycling rate and a 40 percent increase
in its yard debris collection rate. Getting the word out
about PAYT allows the city to successfully support this
equitable, economical, and environmentally beneficial
waste collection program. For more information, contact
Bill Reed at 910 341-7875.
Pennsylvania Town
Demonstrates
PAYT Concept
here's an obvious reason the
Ttown of Reading, Pennsylvania (population
78,000), can claim the highest curbside recycling
rate in the state, collecting more than 360 tons of recy-
clables each year. In Reading, individual citizens, not the
town, are responsible for having their trash picked up.
Instead of paying for waste collection through property
taxes or a utilities bill, residents of Reading hire their
choice of several private haulers that service the town. As a
result, citizens are more directly aware of garbage collec-
tion costs, creating a huge incentive to reduce waste.
Although illegal dumping has been an issue at times, the
residents of Reading are clearly more likely to be vigilant
about recycling, which is offered as a free service. The
PAYT concept comes through loud and clear—if people
have to pay to get rid of their garbage, recycling will
increase. For more information on Reading's PAYT pro-
gram, contact Jane Meeks at 610 655-6278.
PAYT Bulletin 3
-------
Study Recommends
Statewide PAYT for
Massachusetts
K recent report submitted to the Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
recommends mandatory statewide PAYT pricing
for solid waste. Source Reduction in Massachusetts analyzes
annual waste reduction and investigates potential areas for
expanding source reduction throughout the state. In addi-
tion to implementing PAYT, the study recommends that
Massachusetts set source reduction goals and develop a
program targeting waste reduction in the commercial sec-
tor. This report estimates that with mandatory PAYT,
source reduction could increase by almost 500,000 tons
and recycling by 350,000 tons. For more information,
contact Peter Allison at the Massachusetts DEP at
617 292-5980 or .
Economic
Incentives Work
i
wo standard PAYT practices were lauded in the
September 1999 issue of The Monthly Unecononiist.
The journal cites a study that found that waste
diversion increases when customers pay at least as much
for additional cans of garbage collected as they do for the
first can of trash. Providing curbside recycling and yard
debris collection for no additional charge are also shown
to be successful at reducing waste. The study found diat
these economic incentives can increase diversion rates by
25 percent and influence positive community change in
waste disposal practices. For more information, contact
Jeff Morris at or
using the subscriber access
number 100001. \
OOS$
Se-3 'ON ItWUHd
Vd3
OlVei S33J 9 HOViSOd
'ssauisng
09WS OQ '
(M906S)
------- |