The authorities in Seattle (USA) are experimenting with volume-based garbage rates. Customers are asked to decide on their 'subscription' level according to the amount of garbage they need to dispose of each week. Rates increase significantly with higher levels. It is proving to be an extremely effective methods of waste reduction. It is seen as a fair system, with customers having control over the waste they put out for collection and therefore the amount they pay for the service.
For the UK it has been suggested that weighing and recording every bin and sack might be a fair solution, but it would be expensive to operate, not least by slowing down the collection rate. It could also encourage people to dump their rubbish in a neighbour's bin, or to flytip.
Only six per cent of waste is household waste. A proposal worth investigating is that of allocating companies quotas (sometimes called 'credits') for the amount of waste they generate; and then encouraging those companies who reduce most cheaply their share of rubbish to sell off spare credits to those who find it more costly to cut back.
The last paragraph is adapted from an editorial in the Economist, monitored for the Institute by Roger Knights.