Dive Brief:

• Mt. Lebanon, PA is considering a residential pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) service for waste collection. 
• The municipality put together a panel to study the service in February; the report was presented to commissioners on September 9. 
• A majority of the panel agreed that PAYT offered the community savings, but were at odds as to whether or not the program would offer enough savings to the municipality to warrant a change.

Dive Insight:

If the program is adopted, the town could reduce the volume of waste generated by up to 40%, saving the municipality $279,000 in annual costs. Commissioners have until June 2015 to finalize the decision. 

Towns across the country are investigating if PAYT as a potential model. Many are looking for savings, while other focus on the reduction of waste volumes. PAYT encourages residents to recycle more, as households are charged for each bag of trash collected at the curb.