One thing’s for certain, recent tight times have inspired a lot of out-of-the-box thinking. The latest: a proposal from Denver city Councilman Chris Nevitt, who wants to charge residents for trash removal. Not a crazy concept, especially when likened to other utilities like water or electricity, and surely one to generate revenue.
And while dreams of balanced budget drive Nevitt’s plan (the city needs to reduce spending by $120 million over the next 18 months) he also wants to create a more ecologically conscious system — one with both long-term fiscal and environmental sustainability. But in a News9 interview, Nevitt acknowledges that, “nobody likes to pay for something they’re getting for free.” Which is exactly why he wants to reward paying customers for their good behavior.
The extremely successful Recycle Bank is based on a similar concept and has proved effective in hundreds of US cities — it even has its sight set abroad. Nevitt has yet to layout specifics for rewards, but it seems he counting on the notion that people are willing to pay for value-added service.
Nevitt’s “pay as you throw” plan would reward those who recycle and compost the most, while those tossing a lot of trash, will unlikely reap any benefits. At the moment there’s talking of charging $10 a month, which would amount to a $20 million profit for the city. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal. Especially when the alternative points to nothing more than raising taxes.
Photo courtesy of Aldrin Muya, via Flickr.