Impacts of Pay-As-You-Throw and Other Residential Solid Waste Policy Options: Southern Maine 2007–2013

Municipal solid waste management in the U.S. began a transformation in the 1980s as a result of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulation requiring the closure of municipal “dumps.” This legislation, coupled with increasing total and per capita waste, resulted in waste management receiving national attention. Maine and other states began broad efforts to reduce and wisely manage their municipal solid wastes. Many states established solid waste goals, with Maine targeting a waste diversion rate of 50 percent. Four common residential waste management programs in Maine include curbside trash collection, curbside recyclable collection, single-stream recycling, and pay-as-you-throw programs. This article provides estimated impacts from these programs. Pay-as-you-throw, curbside collection of recyclables and single-stream recycling are found to increase the percentage of recycling, while curbside trash collection is found to decrease the percentage of recycling

Curbside Recycling in the U.S.a.: Convenience and Mandatory Participation

This research examines the relationship between the success of a residential curbside recycling program (RCRP), measured as material recovery rate (MRR), and two program factors: (1) whether or not participation is mandated; and (2) convenience, measured by container provision, collection frequency and collection day relative to municipal solid waste collection day. Residential curbside recycling programs, with correct strategies and program design, can be an important part of solid waste management plans world-wide. While residential curbside recycling programs are growing in popularity, many basic design questions lie unanswered and successful program strategies are not always obvious. Data from 357 residential curbside recycling programs in the United States are used to test the hypotheses. Mandatory participation residential curbside recycling programs are seen to collect more material than voluntary participation residential curbside recycling programs. Container provision appears effective for voluntary, but not mandatory, residential curbside recycling programs. Increasing collection frequency appears to have a small positive effect on residential curbside recycling program success, while collection day has little effect on material recovery rate.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Using digitalisation for data-driven freight curbside management. A perspective from urban transport planning

Given trends in urbanisation, e-commerce, active mobility and modal shifts, streets have sprung up as scenes of conflict where competing demands for curbside space have increased. Because public space is limited, urban transport planners are called to solve public space conflicts by defining how much space is allocated to specific users as a means to achieve sustainable cities. In the allocation of curbside space, freight parking operations are sometimes overlooked compared to other curbside uses such as private vehicles parking. However, limited space for freight deliveries generates negative impacts on urban traffic (e.g. due to double parking), as well as on emissions and companies’ efficiency (e.g. due to the need to cruise for parking). This thesis aims to contribute to current understandings of the need for and uses of data to inform curbside management decision-making for freight parking from the perspective of urban transport planning. To that end, a case study was conducted to collect and analyse data about freight curbside operations using quantitative and qualitative methods, and a cross-sectional research design facilitated the exploration of the impacts of curbside interventions on cities’ sustainability worldwide

Majority of Rural Residents Compost Food Waste: Policy and Waste Management Implications for Rural Regions

A growing number of municipalities and states are implementing household food waste diversion efforts such as curbside compost programs, though these programs present challenges for participation and implementation. While many food waste diversion programs are occurring in densely populated regions, understanding food waste management in rural regions is less studied. This research examines the food waste perceptions and current and future food waste management behaviors of residents in Vermont, one of the most rural U.S. states, through a representative telephone survey of Vermont residents (n = 583) in 2018. The findings suggest 55% of residents support banning food waste from landfills. Furthermore, 72% of residents compost at least some of their food waste currently and more than 75% anticipate doing so in the future. Conversely, 34% of residents anticipate using the garbage or a curbside compost pickup program in the future with urban county residents, renters, and those currently using garbage most interested in curbside programs. The majority of respondents were unwilling to pay anything additional for curbside compost pickup programs. These results suggest food waste management strategies in rural regions may be different than densely populated areas, particularly for programs that may require significant investments and have limited participation given the popularity of home composting. As a result, greater investment in education and infrastructure for backyard composting may be an important component of rural food waste management

The impact of curbside parking regulation on garage demand

Parking regulation is seen as a good option to encourage modal shift in order to tackle congestion and pollution in metropolitan areas. Market-clearing curbside pricing is rarely implemented and policy makers have tended to make off-street parking provision their main tool to address excessive curbside demand. Research devoted to garage parking is far less well developed, even though public authorities provide both curbside and garage parking that compete with privately operated facilities. In this paper the impact of garage fare and curbside regulation characteristics (fare and type of dedicated spaces) on garage parking demand are investigated. Aggregate occasional and subscribers parking demand is analyzed by means of two different econometric models estimated using a panel from Barcelona's public parking authority (BSM) that covers 34 garage facilities with yearly data for the period 2006-2012. We find that both demand segments show a negative elasticity to garage fare. Only occasional parkers show a clear substitution effect with a curbside premium ( 0.55/h). Our finding suggests that the actual pricing efficiency gap in Barcelona can range between 0.45 and 1.05 due to the mismatch between curbside and garage pricing regimes; for which we propose some policy alternatives. This stresses the need for a single integrated market approach to parking management, in order to overcome market distortions and achieve efficiency. Additionally, our results show that the characteristics of curbside parking spaces (allowance and time limits) play a role in garage demand determination, yet pricing is much more efficient trigger for behavioral change

Shared-Use Bus Priority Lanes On City Streets: Case Studies in Design and Management, MTI Report 11-10

This report examines the policies and strategies governing the design and, especially, operations of bus lanes in major congested urban centers. It focuses on bus lanes that operate in mixed traffic conditions; the study does not examine practices concerning bus priority lanes on urban highways or freeways. Four key questions addressed in the paper are: How do the many public agencies within any city region that share authority over different aspects of the bus lanes coordinate their work in designing, operating, and enforcing the lanes? What is the physical design of the lanes? What is the scope of the priority use granted to buses? When is bus priority in effect, and what other users may share the lanes during these times? How are the lanes enforced? To answer these questions, the study developed detailed cases on the bus lane development and management strategies in seven cities that currently have shared-use bus priority lanes: Los Angeles, London, New York City, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, and Sydney. Through the case studies, the paper examines the range of practices in use, thus providing planners and decision makers with an awareness of the wide variety of design and operational options available to them. In addition, the report highlights innovative practices that contribute to bus lanes’ success, where the research findings make this possible, such as mechanisms for integrating or jointly managing bus lane planning and operations across agencies

Cash Recycling as an Efficiency Enhancing Anti-Poverty Program

While there are many descriptive articles about cash recyclers this is the first empirical study of people recycling for cash. A new survey shows that cash recycling is an important part of the income of the working poor and that an astonishing twenty percent of the income of professional scavengers comes from recycling. At the same time professional and workplace recyclers are responsible for a large amount of new recycling. A rough estimate of the amount of new recycling generated by the recycling redemption centers in Santa Barbara, CA lies between 36% and 51% of all cash recycling. Based on the evidence presented here it is important for policy makers to consider structuring new bottle laws in ways that encourage professional recycling.recycling, deposit-refund, Pigouvian tax

Curbside Recycling: Waste Resource or Waste of Resources?

In this paper, we estimate the social net benefits of curbside recycling. Benefits are estimated using survey data on household willingness to pay (WTP) from over 4,000 households across 40 western U.S. cities. We calibrate WTP for hypothetical bias using an experimental design that contrasts stated and revealed preferences. Cost estimates are compiled from previous studies by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Institute for Local Self Reliance, as well as from in-depth interviews with recycling coordinators in our sampled cities. Remarkably, we find that the estimated mean social net benefit of curbside recycling is almost exactly zero. Therefore, the decision of whether to implement or maintain a curbside recycling program (CRP) must be done on a city-by-city basis.curbside recycling, willingness to pay, social net benefits, hypothetical bias, calibration

CURBSIDE RECYCLING: WASTE RESOURCE OR WASTE OF RESOURCES?

Replaced with revised version of paper 07/28/04.Environmental Economics and Policy, Public Economics,