Charging Households for Waste Collection and Disposals: The Effects of Weight orVolume-Based Pricing on Solid Waste Management

摘要

Most U.S. households pay for solid waste collection and disposal servicesdirectly through a fixed monthly service charge or indirectly through their property taxes. Increasingly, however, communities are turning to unit pricing as a means of financing solid waste collection and disposal. Unit pricing means charging households for waste services based on the amount and type of waste collected: households that use more of the service pay more for waste collection and disposal. The unit price can be assessed based on weight, volume, or some combination of weight and volume.