1. Pay-­‐As-­‐You-­‐Throw
and
Solid
Waste
Finance
Joshua
Kolling-­‐Perin
Cal
Cunningham
October
22,
2013

2. About
WasteZero
• Founded
in
1991
• Based
in
Raleigh,
NC,
with
regional
offices
throughout
the
country
(MA,
ME,
IL,
and
SC)
• Focused
on
delivering
best-­‐in-­‐class
municipal
waste
reducNon
programs
(100%
customer
retenNon
rate
for
programs
we
design
and
manage)
• Work
with
approximately
800
municipaliNes
and
countless
private
customers
across
41
states
• Designed
to
share
in
our
partners’
success—
contracts
Ne
our
payment
to
waste
reducNon
targets
• CerNfied
as
a
B
Corp—meets
rigorous
standards
of
social
and
environmental
performance
• Supplies
made
in
US
from
recycled
content
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
2

3. Pay-­‐as-­‐You-­‐Throw
in
North
Carolina
MunicipaliFes
with
some
form
of
pay-­‐as-­‐you-­‐throw
are
nothing
new
in
North
Carolina.
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
3

4. Solid
Waste—The
Last
Unmetered
UFlity
Solid
waste
is
the
only
uFlity
residents
do
not
pay
for
per
unit.
Metered
Electricity
Unmetered
Gas
Water
Trash
The
fact
that
garbage
is
an
unmetered
u=lity
leads
to
avoidable
waste
of
financial
and
environmental
resources.
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
4

5. The
PAYT
SoluFon—Overview
Current
Approach
Solid
waste
and
recycling
Residents
purchase
their
All
trash
bags
are
collected
fees
or
General
Fund
dollars
own
bags
(~$0.30
each)
for
curbside
or
at
drop-­‐off
curbside/can/cart
collecFons
centers
Recycling
is
opFonal,
but
not
incenFvized
With
Bag-­‐Based
Pay-­‐As-­‐You-­‐Throw
City
may
reduce
fees
or
reallocate
General
Fund
dollars
for
disposal/
collecFon
Only
pay-­‐as-­‐you-­‐throw
bags
are
collected
curbside
or
at
drop-­‐off
centers
Behavior
changes:
waste
is
reduced
and
recycling
increases
Convenient
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
Residents
purchase
municipality-­‐specific
bags
at
local
retail
stores
(typically
$1-­‐$2/bag)
Easy
Effec/ve
5

6. The
Way
Things
Work
Now
1.
Flat
Fee
2.
Request
3.
Blank
Check
CITY
OF
ANYTOWN
PO
BOX
1234
ANYTOWN,
USA
Solid
Waste
$138.00
ANYTOWN,
USA
“Fill
‘er
up!”
CITY
OF
ANYTOWN
PO
BOX
1234
ANYTOWN,
USA
An
unfair
approach
to
those
that
recycle
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
6

7. The
Pay-­‐As-­‐You-­‐Throw
Model
1.
Cut
Fees/Costs
2.
Pay-­‐As-­‐You-­‐Throw
3.
IncenFvize
What’s
Right
CITY
OF
ANYTOWN
PO
BOX
1234
ANYTOWN,
USA
ANYTOWN,
USA
Solid
Waste
$138.00
CITY
OF
ANYTOWN
PO
BOX
1234
ANYTOWN,
USA
ANYTOWN,
USA
Usually
free
A
variable-­‐rate,
equitable
approach
that
incen=vizes
people
to
recycle
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
7

8. The
Steps
MunicipaliFes
Need
to
Take
1
2
3
4
Understand
Base
Solid
Waste
Infrastructure
Costs
Design
Program
to
Meet
Municipal
Goals
Pass
Ordinance
Requiring
Disposal
in
Pay-­‐As-­‐You-­‐Throw
Bags
Use
ExisFng
Infrastructure
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
8

9. Immediate
and
Long-­‐LasFng
Change
Worcester
MA
ResidenFal
MSW,
1986-­‐2008
Annual
PPC
Program
IniFaFon
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
Source:
1986-­‐2003
-­‐
City
of
Worcester
2004-­‐2008
–
Mass.
DEP
9

10. Immediate
and
Long-­‐LasFng
Change
Long
Term
(Years
2-­‐10):
Within
90
days:
Trash
tonnage
drops
to
50%
of
naNonal
average
and
someNmes
even
lower.
Bills
for
Npping
fees
plummet.
Recycling
tonnage
ofen
doubles
or
even
triples.
Revenue
from
recycled
material
increases.
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
•
•
Tonnage
can
be
reduced
by
up
to
60%1.
Tipping
fees
conNnue
to
decline
and
recycling
revenues
rise
accordingly.
•
Residents
become
increasingly
saNsfied.
1Assuming
municipality
has
no
managed
waste
reducNon
program
at
incepNon.
10

11. Success
Stories
DECATUR,
GA
480
lbs.
(46%
beker
than
naFonal)
WORCESTER,
MA
450
lbs.
(50%
beker
than
naFonal)
MALDEN,
MA
480
lbs.
DARTMOUTH,
MA
(46%
beker
than
naFonal)
TIVERTON,
RI
400
lbs.
(55%
beker
than
naFonal)
500
lbs.
(44%
beker
than
naFonal)
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
11

12. Case
Study—Decatur,
GA
BACKGROUND
" While
the
City
of
Decatur
already
offered
a
recycling
program,
to
meet
state
requirements
to
reduce
landfill
deposits,
in
1997
it
recognized
a
need
to
step
up
its
waste
management
efforts.
" The
city
rolled
out
its
new
PAYT
system
to
residents
in
1998.
— Mail
and
outreach
— Local
media
–
Public
hearings
and
neighborhood
meeNngs
–
Three
sizes
and
colors
of
WasteZero
customized
plasNc
trash
bags
" Residents
citywide
purchase
WasteZero
Trash
Metering™
trash
bags
in
grocery
stores,
hardware
stores,
and
municipal
offices.
" As
a
result,
the
city
saves
more
than
$150,000
annually
and
applies
that
savings
to
fund
local
recycling
events,
raise
awareness,
and
increase
recycling
rates
even
further.
DECATUR
RESULTS
WITH
WASTEZERO:
1998
TO
PRESENT
–
–
–
–
–
42%
reducNon
in
solid
waste
tonnage
79%
increase
in
amount
of
recycling
tonnage
33%
increase
in
compost
tonnage
100%
increase
in
recycling
rate
(from
10.7%
to
22%)
More
than
$150,000
saved
in
disposal
costs
in
their
first
year
and
each
year
since
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
12

13. PAYT
in
a
Small
North
Carolina
Town
1,500
eligible
households
Program
Net
Financial
Impact
1
Year
5
Years
10
Years
Program
Net
Revenue1
$66K
$333K
$718K
Disposal
Savings
$15K
$111K
$304K
Incremental
Recycling
Revenue
TBD
TBD
TBD
OperaNonal
Cost
Savings
TBD
TBD
TBD
$81K
$444K
$1.0M
Program
Environmental
Impact
1
Year
5
Years
10
Years
Tons
of
Waste
Diverted
or
Reduced
325
2,250
5,800
Tons
of
AddiNonal
Recycling
130
900
2,300
Total
Program
Net
Impact
1Net
of
program
services
and
supplies
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
13

14. PAYT
in
a
Mid-­‐Size
North
Carolina
City
20,000
eligible
households
Program
Net
Financial
Impact
1
Year
5
Years
10
Years
Program
Net
Revenue1
$1.2M
$5.9M
$11.6M
Disposal
Savings
$219K
$1.6M
$4.1M
Incremental
Recycling
Revenue
TBD
TBD
TBD
OperaNonal
Cost
Savings
TBD
TBD
TBD
Total
Program
Net
Impact
$1.5M
$7.5M
$15.7M
Program
Environmental
Impact
1
Year
5
Years
10
Years
Tons
of
Waste
Diverted
or
Reduced
4,500
31,000
75,000
Tons
of
AddiNonal
Recycling
1,800
12,500
30,000
Metric
Tons
of
CO2
Reduced
8,500
59,000
141,000
Millions
of
BTUs
Conserved
71,500
494,000
1,200,000
1Net
of
program
services
and
supplies
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
14

15. PAYT
in
a
Large
North
Carolina
City
100,000
eligible
households
Program
Benefits
and
Savings
1
Year
5
Years
10
Years
Program
Net
Revenue1
Disposal
Savings
Incremental
Recycling
Revenue
OperaNonal
Cost
Savings
Total
Program
Net
Impact
$11M
$750K
$250K
TBD
$12M
$55M
$5M
$2M
TBD
$62M
$114M
$13M
$5M
TBD
$132M
Tons
of
Waste
Diverted
or
Reduced
Tons
of
AddiFonal
Recycling
20,000
8,600
125,000
56,000
300,000
135,000
Average
Annual
Environmental
Impact
Incremental
tons
Natural
Resources
Diverted
13,500
of
recycling/year
Greenhouse
Gas
Emissions
Reduced
50,950
Metric
tons
of
CO2
equivalent/year
Energy
Saved
Landfill
Life
Expectancy
Increase
478,500
Million
BTUs/year
TBD
Incremental
years
1Net
of
program
services
and
supplies
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
15

16. Best
PracFces
for
ImplementaFon
The
most
successful
pay-­‐as-­‐you-­‐throw
programs
are
those
that
are
implemented
with
the
understanding
that
the
municipality
is
conducFng
smart
change
management.
Resident
Engagement
• ProacNve
outreach
• EducaNon
campaigns
ImplementaFon
• DedicaNng
effort
to
the
few
weeks
before
and
immediately
afer
program
commencement
Sound
Program
Design
• Based
on
current
and
desired
infrastructure
and
technology
• Easy
to
understand
and
adopt
Appropriate
Pricing
Model
• Understanding
starNng
point
Ø General
Fund,
Enterprise
Fund
or
blend?
Ø Visible
or
hidden
fee?
• True
costs
vs.
required
revenues
• ResidenNal
impact
PosiFve
Feedback
Loop
• Media
and
community
outreach
at
milestone
points,
heralding
success
of
program
In
the
aggregate,
planning
thoughHully
for
pay-­‐as-­‐you-­‐throw
is
itself
a
best
management
prac=ce.
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
16

17. Ques=ons
&
Conversa=on
Copyright
©
2013
WasteZero
17