United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5305W)
EPA530-F-96-031
April 1997
SEPA Pay-As-You-Throw
A Fact Sheet for Elected
Officials
As an elected
official in your
community, you
have many
responsibilities
besides municipal
solid waste (MSW)
management-but
it's an important
service.
Residents in most communi-
ties have come to expect
efficient, reliable trash col-
lection and disposal, and
they tend to support those officials
who can get the job done.
This task has been growing more
complicated, however. First of all, it's
likely that your residents are gener-
ating more waste each year, even
if you have a recycling program
in place.
That can mean escalating costs. And
whether your residents pay for
MSW services through a direct, flat
fee or via their property taxes, it's
not a very equitable system: every-
one pays the same amount, no mat-
ter how much (or how little) trash
they actually produce.
What is
pay-as-you-throw?
Fortunately, there is a system that
can help your MSW management
personnel meet these challenges. In
nearly 2,000 communities across the
country, a program called "pay-as-
you-throw" is offering residents a
more equitable way to pay for collec-
tion and disposal of their trash-
while, at the same time, encouraging
them to create less waste and increase
the amount they recycle.
Pay-as-you-throw programs, also
called unit-based or variable-rate pric-
ing, provide a direct economic incen-
tive for residents to reduce waste.
Under pay-as-you-throw, households
are charged for waste collection based
on the amount of waste they throw
away-in the same way that they are
charged for electricity, gas, and other
utilities. If they throw away less, they
pay less. Some communities charge
residents for each bag or can of
waste they generate. In a few
communities, households
are billed based on the
weight of their trash.
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What are the benefits of
pay-as-you-throw?
Pay-as-you-throw gives residents greater control
over their costs. While they may not realize it, your
constituents are paying for waste management ser-
vices. And whether they pay through taxes or with
a flat fee, residents who generate less and recycle
more are paying for neighbors that generate two
or even three times as much waste.
When a few residents generate more
waste, everyone pays for it. With pay-
as-you-throw, residents who reduce
and recycle are rewarded with a lower
trash bill.
As a result, households under pay-as-
you-throw tend to generate less waste.
Communities with programs in place
have reported reductions in waste
amounts ranging from 25 to 35 per-
cent, on average. Recycling tends to
increase significantly as well. And less
waste means that a community might
be able to spend less of its municipal
budget on waste collection and dis-
posal-possibly even freeing up funds
for other essential services like educa-
tion and police protection.
Pay-as-you-throw is fair:
residents pay only for the
waste they throw away.
Gconomics
Residents who reduce
and recycle save
money — and less waste
helps municipalities cut
costs, too.
Because residents stand to pay less (if
they generate less), pay-as-you-throw
communities have typically reported
strong public support for their pro-
grams. The initial reaction from resi-
dents can vary, however-some resi-
dents might feel that the program is no
more than an added charge. To address this, it is
important to explain to residents at the outset how
the program works, why it is a more equitable system,
and how they can benefit from it. Pay-as-you-throw
has tended to work best where elected officials and
other community leaders have reached out to resi-
dents with a thorough education campaign.
Many of the resulting programs have been highly
successful and have often attracted attention. In
Fewer natural resources
are used and landfill
space is saved, reducing
the need to site new
facilities.
some cases, pay-as-you-throw has worked so well
that the communities have become models in their
region, demonstrating how MSW services can be
improved. And within the community, elected offi-
cials can point to pay-as-you-throw as an example of
municipal improvements they helped bring about.
Are there disadvantages to
pay-as-you-throw?
While there are potential barriers to a
successful program, communities with
pay-as-you-throw report that they
have found effective solutions. Illegal
dumping is a frequently raised issue.
While it is often assumed that illegal
dumping will increase once residents
are asked to pay for each container of
waste they generate, most communi-
ties with pay-as-you-throw have found
this not to be the case. This is espe-
cially true when communities offer
their residents recycling, composting
for yard trimmings, and other pro-
grams that allow individuals to reduce
waste legally. Others, particularly
lower-income residents, worry about
the amount they will have to pay. In
many communities, however, coupon
or voucher programs are being used to
help reduce trash collection costs for
these households.
How can I learn more
about pay-as-you-throw?
EPA has developed a series of products
for anyone interested in pay-as-you-throw.
Individuals looking for more information on these
programs can request additional fact sheets, commu-
nity success stories, and other materials. For local
solid waste planners interested in bringing pay-as-
you-throw to their community, EPA has developed a
comprehensive set of tools to help them design and
implement a successful program. To find out more
about EPA's collection of products, call the Pay-as-
you-throw Helpline toll free at 888-EPA-PAYT.
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