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Overcoming the Potential Obstacles to Trash Metering |
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Researchers at the U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste say the barriers to Trash Metering are most often "political" - "technical issues (litter, equipment, administration, haulers, etc.) are rarely a bother and have solutions from around the nation." Read what local officials and waste management experts have to say about the misconceptions surrounding illegal dumping, taxes, the burden on low income households, and other potential obstacles that can derail even the most well thought out Trash Metering proposal.
THE FEAR OF ILLEGAL DUMPING
"Our PAYT towns do not experience higher incidences of illegal dumping than their tax funded counterparts, although this fear is usually the first thing that is raised when the issue is mentioned."
Paul Tomasi, Executive Director, Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District, VT (link)
"Concerns that implementing a pay-as-you-throw system would bring an increase in illegal dumping have been largely unfounded. We track it as best we can..For the most part, there hasn't been any significant increase relative to pay-as-you-throw."
Chip Chesley, General Services Director, Concord, NH (link)
"We haven't had any illegal dumping problems or anything like that."
Richard Howard, Mayor, Malden, MA (link)
"Concerns about illegal dumping seem more fear than reality. Problems arise in fewer than 1 in 5 communities and usually last less than 3 months."
U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste (link)
"The vast majority of illegal dumping usually involves non-residential sources and is not in response to PAYT programs."
Lisa Skumatz, Ph.D., economist and EPA researcher (link)
"No, we have not seen any increase."
Bill Guistis, Financial Officer, Merrimac, Massachusetts (link)
"Illegal dumping? We just haven't seen it. We've had only two instances - in commercial dumpsters in the downtown area."
Kristine Carbonneau, Program Manager, Dedham, Massachusetts (link)
"We have some beautiful fields and forests in Concord that would be places for illegal dumping. But we see absolutely no illegal dumping in our fields."
Ann Dorfman, Recycling Coordinator, Town of Concord, Massachusetts (link)
THE FEAR OF NEW TAXES
"A key danger with PAYT is its potential to be depicted as a stealth tax, masquerading as an eco-friendly measure. But.PAYT gives households the power to set their own waste budget. With a flat fee, buried in council tax, families and individuals had no control over the costs of their own waste. PAYT places that control firmly in their hands.
Adam Smith Institute (link)
It is possible that residents may perceive the unit-based pricing program as a new tax. To avoid this perception, communities should consider making their programs revenue-neutral, by reducing property taxes or flat fees by the amount that unit-based fees are expected to generate. As a result, residents do not view PAYT fees as taxes.
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (link)
"The idea of 'pay as you throw' is often politically unpopular because it is seen, mistakenly, as a tax. It's actually just a way of allocating costs more fairly."
Fortune Magazine (link)
"The whole cost [of American garbage collection] is hidden since the amount of taxes you pay is totally unrelated to the amount of trash you generate, except for the few communities that have pay-by-the-bag systems."
"Economist Richard Porter, Ph.D., author of "The Economics of Waste" (link)
TRASH METERING AND LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS
"On the low income issue, in some cases, communities provide 'lifeline' discount rates for essential services like energy and telephone, etc., and these types of discounts can be extended to garbage fees through discounts or allocations of some free bags."
Lisa Skumatz, Ph.D., economist and EPA researcher (link)
"Because PAYT fees for trash service represent a higher percentage of a low-income family's income, steps should be taken to minimize the impact on these households. Just as electric, gas, and water utilities provide special rates for low-income users, a PAYT program may also include lowered rates for residents who demonstrate hardship."
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (link)
"We do have a low-income rate. This summer we qualified low-income...customers for rate assistance. We include [in the low-income rate] all households who are under the federal poverty line."
DPW official, Seattle, WA (link)
"If PAYT is revenue neutral, with appropriate deductions from council tax, then there will be opportunities to reduce household budgets. This is crucial, because it means that far from penalizing the poorest, it empowers them in a way current waste pricing cannot."
Adam Smith Institute (link)
"We also get a lot of 'PAYT is more of a burden on those who can least afford to pay,' but these are the people who stand to benefit most from reducing their waste generation."
Paul Tomasi, Executive Director, Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District, VT (link)
THE POLITICS OF TRASH METERING
"The political challenge of unit-based pricing may seem difficult on the surface but 50 percent diversion means 50 percent savings to the municipality. If a community pays 50 percent less for disposal, that's a result worth the effort."
US EPA (link)
"One of the things that we find is the politics of getting a program in place is most difficult. Once we get the program in place, every survey shows that 90 percent of the households like the system, like the equity and don't want to go back to the old program."
Lisa Skumatz, Ph.D., economist and EPA researcher (link)
"Perhaps the greatest barrier to realizing a unit pricing program is overcoming resistance to change, both among citizens and elected officials. Informing residents about the environmental and economic costs of current waste generation patterns can help overcome this resistance and build support for unit pricing..In most cases, the level of political support is the most important variable, routinely cited by communities as responsible for either significant delays or rapid progress in the implementation of their unit pricing programs."
Janice L. Canterbury, Project Manager, Pay-As-You-Throw Program, U.S. EPA (link)
"[PAYT is] very political. It's funny that in this day and age, more people aren't open to it."
Jessica Wozniak, Executive Director, MassRecycles, Inc. (link)
"Political issues are the main barrier in PAYT - technical issues (litter, equipment, administration, haulers, etc.) are rarely a bother and haves solutions from around the nation."
Lisa Skumatz, Ph.D., economist and EPA researcher (link)
"We have a socialist trash system now. If we wanted to socialize medicine, we'd be in an uproar. But we socialize the trash.. I think the citizens of Eastford have been hoodwinked by the opposition. They think this is the Connecticut Yankee God-given right to throw away whatever he wants. But the only person who loses with pay-as-you-throw is the guy who doesn't give a damn."
Dick Woodward, First Selectman, Eastford, CT (link)
"Change is tough for a lot of folks. It was a tough decision, but the councilors stepped up to the plate. Those numbers are reflecting the program being an overwhelming success."
Jim Bouley, Mayor, Concord, NH (link)
"It takes political courage to adopt pay-as-you-throw. There are always going to be naysayers because it is a change."
Arlene Miller, Municipal Assistance Coordinator, Mass. DEP (link)
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Trash Metering |
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| Trash Metering - an alternative to the traditional flat fee approach - simply charges households for waste collection and disposal services based on the number of trash bags collected. Trash Metering provides residents with a direct price incentive to reduce their production of solid waste. As a result, recycling programs in cities with Trash Metering consistently have significantly higher participation levels and higher recycling rates in comparison to cities without Trash Metering. |
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Environmental Impact |
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| In more than 300 communities nationwide, the WasteZero System has dramatically impacted residential waste diversion. A 2010 analysis of all WasteZero communities found that the WasteZero System decreased residential MSW by an average 43 percent in weight. A recent study by the US EPA of all Trash Metering municipalities shows that about one-third of diverted waste is diverted directly to recycling, about one-third is diverted to composting, and one-third is "source reduced" (buying in bulk, reduced packaging, etc.). |
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