Post on 14-Jun-2015
description
Cut Trash in Half AshevilleOverview
August 2014
Copyright © 2014 WasteZero2
Pay-as-You-Throw Overview
Immediate and long-term revenue and cost savings
• $2.7 million program net impact in 1 year
• $30.4 million program net impact over 10 years
Profound environmental impact• Significant reductions in greenhouse gases
and energy use
Copyright © 2014 WasteZero3
The Mission
Cut trash in half
in the USA
• An environmental and financial nightmare for cities and towns
• A broken system that encourages waste and drains taxpayer resources
Copyright © 2014 WasteZero4
More Trash, Fewer Landfills
19901992
19941996
19982000
20022004
20062008
20102012
20142016
20182020
400
425
450
475
500
525
550
575
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
Source: US EPA, Municipal Solid Waste: Facts and Fig-ures
Municipal Solid Waste (Billions of Pounds)
Number of Active MSW Landfills
Copyright © 2014 WasteZero5
Environmental Dangers
Trash trucks
Methane
Landfills
Leachate
Incinerators
Dioxins
Copyright © 2014 WasteZero6
Natural Resources
BTUs/ Energy
Carbon Emissions
Paper• 59 billion lbs.• 500 million
trees
• 3.5 quadrillion BTUs (5% of total US energy consumption)• Enough energy to power 25% US homes for an entire year• Energy equivalent of 26 billion gallons of gasoline
• 275 million metric tons of carbon dioxide• Equivalent of emissions from 1 in every 5 cars in the US• Require 225 million acres of forest to sequester this much
(more than all of the US national forests combined)
Plastic• 63 billion lbs.• 513 million
barrels of oil
Aluminum• 6 billion lbs.• 837 billion cans
Massive Wasted Resources
Every Year
Copyright © 2014 WasteZero7
Trash Is America’s $384 Billion Problem
TOTAL: $384 Billion
MSW Management Expenses
$100 Billion
Energy Opportunity Cost
$100 Billion
+
Avoidable Costs
$200 Billion
Recycling Jobs Payroll
$34 Billion
Remanufacturing Revenue
$100 Billion+
$184 Billion
+
Value of Materials
$50 Billion
Unrealized Revenue
Every Year
Copyright © 2014 WasteZero8
An Incentive to Waste?
The fact that garbage is an unmetered utility leads toavoidable waste of financial and environmental resources.
Solid waste is the only utility residents do not pay for based on actual use.
Electricity Gas
WaterTrash
Metered Unmetered
Copyright © 2014 WasteZero9
The Power of Pay-as-You-ThrowCurrent Approach
With Bag-Based Pay-As-You-Throw
Solid waste and recycling fees or General Fund dollars
Residents purchase theirown bags (~$0.30 each)
All trash bags are collected curbside or at drop-off
centers
City may reduce fees or reallocate General Fund
dollars for disposal/collection
Residents purchase municipality-specific bags
at local retail stores(typically $2/bag) to cover
true cost of city service
Only pay-as-you-throw bags are collected
curbside or at drop-off centers
Recycling is optional, but not incentivized
Behavior changes: waste is reduced
and recycling increases
EasyConvenient Effective
Copyright © 2014 WasteZero10
True Waste Reduction
0
250
500
750
1000
12501,100 lbs.
900 lbs.
500 lbs.or less
Annual Pounds per Capita of US Household Solid Waste Disposed
Copyright © 2014 WasteZero11
True Waste Reduction
MALDEN, MASS.52% DECLINE IN SOLID WASTE OVER 5
YEARS
PLYMOUTH, MASS.44% DECLINE IN SOLID WASTE IN 1
YEAR
DARTMOUTH, MASS.59% DECLINE IN SOLID WASTE OVER 6
YEARS
SANFORD, MAINE41% DECLINE IN SOLID WASTE IN 3
MONTHS
Copyright © 2014 WasteZero12
Environmental ImpactAsheville’s Projected
Annual Greenhouse Gas Reduction With Bag-Based PAYT
Equivalent to:Removing 3,300passenger vehicles from the road annually
or
Reducing gasoline consumption by1,894,000gallons
17,000 tons MTCO2e
Asheville’s ProjectedAnnual Reduction in Energy Use
With Bag-Based PAYTEquivalent to:
Powering1,300Asheville residences annually
or
Installing17,000rooftop solar panel arrays
141,000MBTUs
Copyright © 2014 WasteZero13
Cash Set fee in cash for each bag disposed of at a convenience center
Meters trash based on use, but operationally inefficient and prone to abuse, and does not work with curbside collection
Variable-Rate Carts
Choice of different-sized carts, with larger carts costing more and smaller ones costing less
Low burden on residents, but does not drive significant behavior change (so not a significant driver of waste reduction)
OverflowFlat fee for everything that fits into a certain size cart, and then extra costs (usually by the bag) for anything that does not fit into the cart
Offers most people little incentive to reduce waste
Stickers/Tags
Pay by the bag by affixing a pre-paid tag or sticker to each bag of trash
Meters trash based on use, but difficult to enforce and does not work with curbside collection
Bags Pay by the bag with specialized bags approved by the municipality
Maximizes waste reduction (average 44% decrease) due to strong incentives and easy enforcement
The Different Kinds of Pay-as-You-Throw
Copyright © 2014 WasteZero14
Call to Action
Spread the WordTell Your Friends About Bag-Based Pay-as-You-ThrowTell Your Elected Officials You Support Bag-Based Pay-as-You-Throw
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