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Trash Metering and Environmental Sustainability |
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Trash Metering has been called "the first truly significant improvement in our approach to waste management in the modern era." What makes Trash Metering so remarkable is that it not only encourages recycling and composting, but it can also get people to start demanding less wasteful packaging in the first place. See what leading experts say about Trash Metering's role in reducing our nation's waste and fostering sustainability.
"The first time you pay for your trash is the first time you look into your trash bucket. It's amazing what people start recycling, once you pay a little for trash removal."
Irene Congdon, Recycling Coordinator, Massachusetts DEP (link)
"If every town in Connecticut switched to [PAYT] waste management and achieved a 40 percent diversion rate, then Connecticut would eliminate an estimated 595,000 MTCE (Million Ton of Carbon Equivalent) from the atmosphere - the equivalent of taking 446,250 cars off the roads. That is probably close to 20 percent of the registered/insured cars in the State."
Gina McCarthy, Commissioner, Connecticut DEP (link)
"Our research shows that if you look at the cost per greenhouse gas emissions reduction from some of the PAYT and recycling programs and compare that to what you get from energy efficiency programs, we find that the recycling and PAYT programs are cheaper per metric ton of carbon emission reduction and easier to implement."
Lisa Skumatz, Ph.D., economist and EPA researcher (link)
"EPA endorses this approach to solid waste management, as it has proven to be the single most effective way to reduce residential solid waste, increase recycling, and decrease waste-related greenhouse gas emissions."
U.S. EPA (link)
"Pay-as-you-throw is the single most effective way for a community to reduce their waste and increase recycling, and that's good for the environment, good for the bottom line, and fairer to citizens. . . You are paying for trash services in the same way you are paying for the amount of water you use or the electricity you use."
Brooke Nash, Chief of Municipal Waste Reduction, Massachusetts DEP (link)
"Seven out of the top 10 recycling programs in the state [of Massachusetts] use pay-as-you-throw."
Editorial, Patriot Ledger, MA (link)
"Even better than recycling is source reduction-that is, waste prevention-which is the most valuable ecological benefit of PAYT.
Janice L. Canterbury, Project Manager, Pay-As-You-Throw Program, U.S. EPA (link)
"The really great thing about PAYT is that it aligns economic and environmental priorities so they are working to support each other."
Richard Denison, Ph.D., The Environmental Defense Fund, Washington, DC (link)
"PAYT may represent the first truly significant improvement in our approach to waste management in the modern era. Recycling is a great idea, but we never could figure out how to get people to do it. PAYT is where the rubber hits the road. It can get people to recycle, but it can also get people to compost and to start demanding less wasteful packaging in the first place."
Daniel McKinley and Chris McClure, Environmental Economics, University of Georgia (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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