On average, each person in the United States throws away 4.4 pounds of trash a day. Most of our trash is plastic and paper, and much of it can be recycled. While many cities and counties have implemented recycling programs to bring down our trash load, we can still do more. Some American cities are following the lead of cities abroad and charging residents by the trash bag. These programs are called Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) programs, and they’re really making a difference.

2 Traditionally, residents pay a flat fee for garbage collection. Local governments sign contracts with waste-removal companies, and these companies remove the trash we leave curbside. Cities might pay by the number of residents or the number of truckloads delivered to the dump. Either way, handling trash is expensive. Cities are now asking citizens to pay based on how much they throw out as a way to reduce the financial burden and encourage people to recycle more and use less.

3 In the PAYT program, residents buy and use official trash bags, stickers to put on their bags, or other official receptacles. Waste-management companies pick up only these designated items. In Fort Worth, Texas, the amount residents pay is based on the size of their garbage cart. For example, a family of four that recycles probably generates enough trash to fill a 64-gallon cart. The family’s sanitation fee in 2018 would have been $17.50 per month. Compare that to a family that doesn’t recycle and needs a 96-gallon garbage cart: In the same year, they would have been charged $22.75 per month. Residents who need to throw away more can buy additional official blue bags with a giant longhorn printed on them. In Seoul, South Korea, some residential communities have trash bins equipped with radio-frequency identification, or RFID, technology. Computers weigh trash bags and then bill residents accordingly. In PAYT programs like these, people who throw away a lot of trash pay more money than those who sort their trash and recycle some of it instead. Rather than requiring residents to reduce their trash, the programs provide incentives for voluntary participation. As residents seek to get the best deals, they become more informed about trash problems and embrace the programs more wholeheartedly than they would if they were forced to participate by reducing their trash output with no financial benefit.

4 Putting a price on trash also makes PAYT participants take an even closer look at what they call trash. There is trash made up of waste from both living and nonliving things. Trash from nonliving things, like metal and plastic, can often be reused or recycled. But organic trash, like food waste and food-soiled paper, accounts for a lot of the weight and bulk of trash. Instead of sending these items to the landfill, people can set aside leftovers and use them for animal feed or compost them for fertilizer. Portland, Oregon, added composting pickup citywide after great success in a recent trial run. The service has an additional fee, but that cost doesn’t hinder citizens from signing up. In fact, citizens can choose to have only recycling and composting service.

5 With trash no longer allowed to go hidden in oversized black bags, unwanted and unneeded things are finding second lives outside the garbage can. Used clothes and household items are now more likely to be donated or given away. Metal that was once carelessly thrown into a giant black bag might be set aside for scrap instead. All in all, PAYT programs increase our awareness of the trash we produce.

“Paying As You Throw” written for educational purposes.

Passage 2: I Don’t Want This, But You Might

6 Take a look in the trash cans in a school lunchroom. You’ll probably see unopened food containers and uneaten whole fruits and vegetables inside. A container of milk here, a bag of cookies there, and a box of raisins—it all adds up to pounds upon pounds of food being thrown away in schools each week. This waste isn’t right, and students and school administrators across the country agree. They’re setting up “share tables” for students to leave unwanted food items for others to take and enjoy. Friends have shared food since the days of one-room schoolhouses—but now, everyone in a school can share.

7 In June 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a memo stating that share tables were an effective way to reduce food waste in our schools. The USDA suggests that schools set up a space for students to place whole and unopened foods and drinks. That way, other students who are still hungry can have extra food to eat now or later in the day. Items that aren’t claimed by the end of the day can be donated by schools to nonprofit organizations. This way, food is going where it belongs: into mouths and not landfills.

8 As the caretakers of young people during the day, schools are required to serve a hot, healthy meal to students, complete with fruits and vegetables. While cafeteria managers try to plan meals that students actually want to eat, not everyone chooses to eat all that is on the plate. Share tables allow students to voluntarily drop off what they don’t eat. Since most students are busy talking to friends and dealing with issues of their own, they aren’t watching the share table. Other students are free to take what they want from the table without being noticed or judged. We’ve all had days when we’ve wanted to eat a little extra at lunch, and share tables allow everyone the opportunity to fill up.

9 At schools that have implemented share tables, students share mostly fruit and milk, but they also often leave chips, nuts, crackers, and candy for others to pick up. Most share tables have restrictions. For instance, shareable food must be unpeeled, uncut, and wrapped. In some schools, though, these rules go further. Because of these strict rules, good food is still going into the trash. One worry is that cold food is being left out too long. A school in Wallingford, Connecticut, uses a donated refrigerator to store cold items. Schools may have more success at reducing waste if students are required to use share tables, rather than having an option to throw away food. Insisting on participation forces all students to think about the amount of waste they create and reduce it. Administrators and students are finding innovative ways to let students share safely, because everyone knows it’s best to avoid waste.

“I Don’t Want This, But You Might” written for educational purposes.

Now answer the questions. Base your answers on the passages “Paying As You Throw” and “I Don’t Want This, But You Might.”

Read this sentence from Passage 1.

“But organic trash, like food waste and food-soiled paper, accounts for a lot of the weight and bulk of trash.” (paragraph 4)

Which sentence from Passage 2 is related to this idea?
A. “A container of milk here, a bag of cookies there, and a box of raisins—it all adds up to pounds upon pounds of food being thrown away in schools each week.” (paragraph 6)
B. “In June 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a memo stating that share tables were an effective way to reduce food waste in our schools.” (paragraph 7)
C. “While cafeteria managers try to plan meals that students actually want to eat, not everyone chooses to eat all that is on the plate.” (paragraph 8)
D. “At schools that have implemented share tables, students share mostly fruit and milk, but they also often leave chips, nuts, crackers, and candy for others to pick up.” (paragraph 9)