Household Responses to Pricing Garbage by the Bag

Abstract

This chapter describes the steps taken to gather the data from individual households in Charlottesville, including steps to control for seasonal or other variations. The Charlottesville Daily Progress, Tuesday October 26, 1993, "Illegal Dumping Has County, Landowners Sifting for Answers," tells of increased dumping at more than 30 illegal dumpsites. Several communities and private firms have responded to these economic pressures by implementing volume-based pricing programs that require households to pay for each bag or can of garbage presented for collection. The attractiveness of unit pricing depends crucially on the extent of each such method of garbage reduction. The one-bag minimum would reduce dumping substantially, but it would also reduce some of the desirable changes in garbage and recycling. The biggest concern to policy makers considering unit pricing in their communities is the possibility of increases in illegal forms of garbage disposal.