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I agree largely with the sentiment, but I do think that "pay-per-use" broadly is useful for any habit that you want others to be cognizant of (and, through awar
by seangrogg 8y ago
I agree largely with the sentiment, but I do think that "pay-per-use" broadly is useful for any habit that you want others to be cognizant of (and, through awareness, reduce).
I do find this "pay-as-you-throw" concept off-putting as I don't like cooking; take-out bags and food wrappers are something I frequently dispose of. But if it was something I was more cognizant of I'd likely ask for less in the first place (don't need a bag for one item) or otherwise put pressure on the business (washable/returnable items) where doing so now would just be unnecessary and impractical.
That being said, being that many things such as waste, water, etc. are largely unavoidable I think providing a general credit such that it shouldn't harm average users is entirely practical. Bonus points if it's a transactional credit - you could sell your excess waste allotment to your neighbor at below regulatory rate if you're not using it.
- cpeterso 8y agoAs you say, much waste is unavoidable. Would "pay-as-you-throw" encourage people to litter if you make the Right Thing (throwing away and recycling) not free and the Wrong Thing free? I've lived in apartment buildings where tenants who leave trash bags on the floor of the trash room because they can't even be bothered to lift their bags into the dumpster. Or they dump mattresses on the floor of the trash room or on the sidewalk instead of scheduling a (free!) bulk trash pick-up.
- seangrogg 8y agoI can't speak for Canada but littering is fined in most of the 'States [0]. Mind you, this is for freeways but I don't see how it couldn't be applied to residences that are already being actively monitored. Then the behavior is just a matter of risk/reward - is saving $x this month worth an y% chance that I'll have to pay $z? Adjust variables until the answer is "no" in the majority of cases. [0]: http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/states-with-littering-penalties.aspx http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resourc...