Pay-as-you-throw trash pricing.

Abstract

Abstract

The dynamics of managing the State of New Hampshire's solid waste stream was tested using three basic regression models. The first model tested the hypothesis that the marginal price of a Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) service is inversely related to waste generation. Other variables likely to affect waste generation such as property taxes, population, per capita income level, and whether the town has curbside trash pickup or ordinances on mandatory recycling programs were also examined. The second model was intended to test the effect of the existence of a PAYT program on MSW generation rates. Using the variables from both regression analyses, a logit model was used to predict a community's likelihood of adopting PAYT. Some 31 PAYT communities were included in the analysis. The analysis revealed that an increase in marginal price for solid waste disposal above and beyond the normal price of store bought garbage bags, and pro-active approach to community planning, reduce annual per capita waste generation. It was also evident that some community characteristics, such as average size of households, can affect solid waste generation. Although results show that an increase in marginal price reduces per capita MSW generation rates, PAYT may not be right for every town.

Department

Natural Resources and the Environment

Publication Date

9-2004

Journal Title

BioCycle

Publisher

JG Press

Document Type

Article

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