Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) is an economic incentive that encourages citizens to re-duce waste. Unlike traditional municipal solid waste management systems, where residents pay for waste services through taxes or a fl at fee, residents in PAYT sys-tems are charged for services based on the amount of trash they discard.PAYT Offers Three Key Benefi ts:Environmental Sustainability – Charging residents a fee for each bag or can of trash generated gives them an incentive to discard less waste. The typical result is a signifi cant increase in waste prevention and recycling.Economic Sustainability – Well-designed programs enable communities to gener-ate the revenues they need to cover waste management program costs.Equity – PAYT is widely seen as more equitable. Under PAYT, community resi-dents who throw away less pay less (Why should residents share the costs of this utility when they do not share electrical or water costs?)On average, NEKWMD towns that have implemented PAYT systems have lower waste management costs, lower waste generation rates, and higher recycling rates.In fact, NEKWMD towns who have implemented PAYT programs generate almost 40% less waste than their non-PAYT counterparts! PAYT programs are already in place in Barnet, Bloomfi eld, Brighton, Concord, Danville, Greensboro, Gro-ton/Ryegate, Kirby, Peacham, Waterford, and Westfi eld. Since fees for NEKWMD membership are based primarily on the amount of waste produced, members have a clear opportunity to control their waste management costs. Costs can decrease as waste generation rates decrease and recycling rates increase.