Pay-As-You-Throw in Boston

How might implementing a Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) program impact the City of Boston?

To estimate the impact of a PAYT program on Boston's trash tonnage and revenue, our team...

1 Calculated how much trash Boston households produced in 2024 and how much the city spent to incinerate it.
2 Estimated the potential trash reduction and how much the city could save in incineration costs from the reduction alone.
3 Boston estimates were generated from reductions seen in other municipalities.
4 Estimated how much Boston could generate in revenue from PAYT-bag sales based on the city of Malden.

Without Pay-As-You-Throw (2024)

Boston disposed of

186,305 tons of trash in 2024

This includes household and bulky waste

Each household disposed of

0.68 tons of trash in 2024

This is an average per household

Boston spent

$19,260,210.90

on incinerating all household trash in 2024

With Pay-As-You-Throw (by 2031)

Boston could dispose of

102,675 tons of trash (45% less) by 2031

Estimated based on reductions seen in other municipalities

Each household could dispose of

0.36 fewer tons of trash by 2031

This is an average per household

Boston could save

$1,729,131.19

in annual trash incineration costs with this 44.95% reduction in tonnage alone.

PAYT Results in Other Massachusetts Municipalities

Hinsdale

Reduced yearly household tonnage by 43.48%

over a 5 year time period of implementing PAYT.

PAYT Model: Stickers

Peru

Reduced yearly household tonnage by 11.4%

over a 5 year time period of implementing PAYT.

PAYT Model: Stickers

Heath

Reduced yearly household tonnage by 47.57%

over a 5 year time period of implementing PAYT.

PAYT Model: Stickers

Chicopee

Reduced yearly household tonnage by 16.25%

over a 5 year time period of implementing PAYT.

PAYT Model: Bags and Carts

Harvard

Reduced yearly household tonnage by 39.74%

over a 5 year time period of implementing PAYT.

PAYT Model: Bags and Punch Cart

Pre-Post Effect of PAYT Within a 5-year Time Period

Data Sources: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's 2024 Municipal Solid Waste and Recycling Survey, Massachusetts Department of Revenue, & Massachusetts Municipal PAYT Programs

Potential Revenue from PAYT: A Case Study of Malden

We used the city of Malden as a case study to estimate the potential revenue Boston could generate if they implemented a similar PAYT program. Malden residents have two options to dispose of their trash: 1) Buy blue PAYT trash bags that can be placed in any barrel, or 2) Buy an annual "trash tag" to stick to a 35-gallon city-issued trash cart and continue using standard trash bags.¹

2024 PROPOSED REVENUE FROM PAYT BAG SALES

$12,837,475

Statistic includes household and bulky waste for the City of Malden

2024 PROPOSED REVENUE FROM PAYT TRASH TAGS

$8,518,760

Statistic includes household and bulky waste for the City of Malden

Revenue projections are based on the city of Malden's PAYT revenue from PAYT bag and tag sales for participating households only. The city of Malden is a densely populated municipality, with a smaller population size than the city of Boston. For more information on the methodology, visit the Methodology page.

Interviews with officials from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the City of Boston's Zero Waste Initiative team, the University of New Hampshire, the City of Brockton, and the City of Malden have informed the analysis on this page. For works cited, see the Sources page.