Author: Shreya Golakiya

The Hidden Cost of Cheap Waste: Why Reducing Trash Matters More Than We Think

May 11, 2026

News and Context
Most conversations about waste focus on what happens after we throw something away.

Can it be recycled? Composted? Burned? Sent to a landfill?

But one of the biggest environmental problems connected to waste is something we rarely see: methane emissions from landfills.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, landfills are one of the largest human caused sources of methane in the United States. Methane is a greenhouse gas that traps more heat than carbon dioxide over short periods of time. This makes landfill emissions a major contributor to climate change.

This changes the way we should think about trash.

Waste is not just a sanitation issue. It is also a climate issue.

The problem is that many waste systems still make disposal feel unlimited. When households pay the same flat fee regardless of how much they throw away, there is little financial incentive to reduce waste. This is part of why policies like Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) systems continue gaining attention across the United States.

As discussed in previous posts, PAYT programs charge residents based on the amount of trash they produce. Communities using these systems have reported major reductions in landfill waste because residents become more conscious of consumption, recycling, and composting habits. Research by the U.S. EPA PAYT Program shows that these systems can significantly reduce overall waste generation while increasing recycling participation.

But reducing waste is not only about policy. It also requires changing how we think about convenience.

Single use packaging, fast consumption, and disposable products are often designed to feel cheap and temporary. The environmental costs, however, are delayed and largely invisible. Trash leaves the curb, but it does not disappear. It accumulates in landfills, produces emissions, and shapes environmental conditions long after consumers stop thinking about it.

For Prince George’s County, this raises an important question moving forward:

Should waste policy continue focusing mostly on disposal, or should it focus more directly on reducing waste before it is ever created?

Because the cheapest trash to manage is the trash that never exists in the first place.
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Why Recycling Alone Isn’t Solving the Waste Problem

April 9, 2026

News and Context
If recycling is the solution to our waste problem, why is so much of our trash still ending up in landfills?

In the United States, recycling rates have remained stuck at around 32% for years, despite awareness and participation efforts . That means nearly 2/3 of all waste is still not being recycled, even though more people believe they are doing the right thing.

This gap reveals a larger problem.

Recycling systems are not designed to handle the large volume of modern waste. In fact, only about 21% of recyclable materials are successfully recycled, while most are lost due to confusion, contamination, or lack of access. Even when items are in recycling bins, they are not always processed successfully.

Contamination is a major issue. Studies estimate that roughly 25% of items placed in recycling bins are not recyclable, which can cause entire batches to be rejected and sent to landfills instead. As a result, recycling can actually lead to more waste when non-recyclable items contaminate the system.

The problem becomes even more complex when we look beyond recycling bins.

Some recyclable materials are exported to other countries or sent to incineration facilities. While incineration can generate energy, it also produces emissions and raises environmental justice concerns, especially for communities located near these facilities. Meanwhile, materials like plastics continue to have extremely low recycling rates, with only about 8–9% of plastic waste actually recycled in the U.S. .

All of this points to a key issue: recycling focuses on managing waste after it is created, not preventing it in the first place.

This is why policies like Pay-As-You-Throw pricing systems matter. Instead of relying solely on recycling, PAYT systems aim to reduce the amount of waste generated by creating financial incentives at the household level. Communities that have adopted PAYT programs have seen significant reductions in landfill waste, showing that behavior-based policies can address the problem at its source.

For Prince George’s County, this is important.

Recycling should remain a key part of waste management, but it cannot be the only strategy. Without policies that reduce overall waste production, recycling alone risks creating the illusion of progress while landfills continue to grow.

The solution is not to recycle more, it is to waste less.

For residents, that might mean paying closer attention to what actually belongs in recycling bins or reducing single-use consumption. For policymakers, it means considering systems that go beyond recycling and address waste at its source.

Because what we throw away doesn’t disappear, it just goes somewhere else.
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Should Prince George’s County Adopt Pay-As-You-Throw Pricing Systems?

April 2, 2026

News and Context
If Pay-As-You-Throw pricing systems reduce landfill waste and increase recycling rates, should Prince George’s County adopt them?

Across the United States, Pay-As-You-Throw pricing systems (PAYT) have consistently changed how communities manage waste. By charging residents based on how much trash they throw away, these systems create a financial incentive to reduce waste. Research shows that PAYT programs can reduce landfill waste by as much as 17–44% while significantly increasing recycling participation .

This presents a clear opportunity for Prince George’s County, which still relies on a traditional flat fee system. Landfills are a major source of methane emissions. Reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills can directly improve both environmental and public health outcomes. PAYT offers a policy tool that targets behavior at the household level, making waste reduction both measurable and economically driven.

But adoption is not just about whether the policy works — it’s about whether it works well in this specific community.

As discussed in previous posts, PAYT systems can come with consequences. Without proper design, they can place a heavier burden on lower-income households or lead to small increases in illegal dumping. These risks do not outweigh the environmental benefits, but they do shape how the policy should be implemented.

That means the real question for Prince George’s County is not a simple yes or no.

It’s how.

A successful PAYT system would need to include accessible recycling services, clear public communication, and program adjustments that account for differences in income and access. Other communities have shown that when these elements are in place, PAYT systems can reduce waste while maintaining fairness.

Waste policy often feels invisible, but it shapes everyday behavior in powerful ways.

For Prince George’s County, adopting Pay-As-You-Throw pricing systems would represent a shift toward a more sustainable and accountable waste system — if it is designed with both environmental outcomes and community equity in mind.
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Why Pay-As-You-Throw Pricing Systems Raise Equity Concerns

March 22, 2026

News and Context
If Pay-As-You-Throw pricing systems work so well, why hasn’t every community adopted them?

Across the United States, Pay-As-You-Throw pricing systems (PAYT) have been shown to reduce landfill waste and increase recycling rates. By charging residents based on how much trash they throw away, these systems create a clear financial incentive to waste less. Despite these environmental benefits, PAYT policies are controversial due to a few social and economic reasons.

One of the most common concerns is illegal dumping. Critics argue that when residents are charged for trash, some try to avoid fees by dumping waste in public spaces or using someone else’s bin. While research suggests this does happen, the scale is often smaller than expected. Studies estimate that illegal dumping accounts for only about 3–6% of waste changes, while overall landfill waste still decreases significantly . Overall, illegal dumping occurs, but it does not outweigh the broader environmental benefits.

A more complex issue is equity.

Because PAYT systems charge households per unit of waste, they can place a heavier burden on lower-income residents. Not all households have the same ability to reduce waste. Families with limited access to recycling services, larger purchasing options, or composting programs may end up paying more simply because they have fewer options.

This raises an important question: is PAYT fair?

Some communities have addressed this by redesigning their programs. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Pay-As-You-Throw overview, cities can reduce inequities by offering discounted trash bags to low-income households, expanding access to recycling, and increasing public education about waste reduction. These adjustments allow PAYT systems to maintain their environmental benefits while minimizing financial strain.

For Prince George’s County, this distinction matters. Any shift away from a flat fee system would need to consider not only how much waste is reduced, but also who bears the cost of that change. A policy that reduces landfill use but disproportionately impacts vulnerable communities risks creating new problems while solving another.

The challenge is not whether PAYT works. It’s whether it can work equitably.
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What Pay-As-You-Throw Pricing Reveals About Waste

March 22, 2026

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Most of us don’t think about trash once it leaves the curb.

But what if the way we pay for trash is the real reason so much of it ends up in landfills?

Across the United States, Pay-As-You-Throw pricing systems (PAYT) are changing how communities manage waste. Instead of paying a flat fee through taxes, residents are charged based on how much trash they throw away. It’s similar to how we pay for electricity or water. The idea is simple, when the amount of waste one produces has a direct cost, less of it is produced.

And the data suggests it works.

According to the EPA, communities that adopt PAYT systems reduce waste by 17–44%. When households have to pay per bag of trash, recycling and composting suddenly become the cheaper option. A peer-reviewed study on PAYT waste reduction by Morlok et al. found that PAYT programs significantly reduce landfill waste while increasing recycling participation by encouraging residents to separate materials more carefully . In some cases, recycling rates increased by as much as 20–40%, showing how powerful financial incentives can be in shaping everyday decisions.

The impact of PAYT systems becomes even clearer when visualized:

Waste reduction and recycling increases after implementing Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) pricing systems in U.S. communities.
Baseline values are normalized to 100. Values above 100 indicate an increase, while values below 100 indicate a decrease. Research shows landfill waste decreases by 17–44% and recycling rates increase by 20–40% after PAYT implementation according to EPA.

Prince George’s County still relies on traditional flat-fee waste systems and this raises an important question. Landfills are one of the largest sources of methane emissions in the United States, and reducing waste is directly tied to both climate and public health outcomes.

If changing how residents pay for trash can significantly reduce landfill use, PAYT pricing systems may be one of the most effective and underutilized policy tools available.
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Following the Waste
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Following the Waste

March 5, 2026

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Most of us don’t think about trash once it leaves the curb.

But where does it actually go? Who decides what gets recycled, buried, or burned? And how do those decisions affect public health and the environment?

I’m Shreya, a senior studying Public Health Science at the University of Maryland. I’ve become increasingly interested in how waste management systems, recycling programs, and landfill policies shape environmental outcomes in communities.

Outside of school, I’m also a very proud older sister to twin brothers who just turned one, which constantly reminds me that the environmental policies we create today will shape the world they grow up in.

Through this blog, I’ll be exploring the systems behind our trash ,from recycling myths to landfill policy ,and asking what smarter, healthier waste systems might look like.
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