"Household Responses for Pricing Garbage by the Bag,"

43 Pages Posted: 28 Dec 2000 Last revised: 10 Oct 2022

See all articles by Don Fullerton

Don Fullerton

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Department of Finance; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Thomas C. Kinnaman

Bucknell University - Department of Economics

Date Written: March 1994

Abstract

This paper estimates household reaction to the implementation of unit-pricing for the collection of residential garbage. We gather original data on weight and volume of weekly garbage and recycling of 75 households in Charlottesville, Virginia, both before and after the start of a program that requires an eighty-cent sticker on each bag of garbage. This data set is the first of its kind. We estimate household demands for the collection of garbage and recyclable material, the effect on density of household garbage, and the amount of illegal dumping by households. We also estimate the probability that a household chooses each method available to reduce its garbage. In response to the implementation of this unit-pricing program, we find that households (1) reduced the weight of their garbage by 14%, (2) reduced the volume of garbage by 37% and (3) increased the weight of their recyclable materials by 16%. We estimate that additional illegal -- or at least suspicious -- disposal accounts for 0.42 pounds per person per week, or 28% of the reduction in garbage observed at the curb.

Suggested Citation

Fullerton, Don and Kinnaman, Thomas C., "Household Responses for Pricing Garbage by the Bag," (March 1994). NBER Working Paper No. w4670, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=254546

Don Fullerton (Contact Author)

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Department of Finance ( email )

1206 South Sixth Street
Champaign, IL 61820
United States
(217) 244-3621 (Phone)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

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Germany

Thomas C. Kinnaman

Bucknell University - Department of Economics ( email )

Lewisburg, PA 17837
United States
570-524-3465 (Phone)

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