As communities in the United States and Europe confront shortages of disposal capacity, the growing solid waste stream increasingly threatens the environment.This important new book addresses a major policy question regarding the solid waste crisis: should municipalities charge households user fees for solid waste services? In her study of this issue, Professor Jenkins draws on a unique data set which relates the quantities of waste discarded and the prices charged to households for waste services in nine US communities.

She thoroughly analyses the relationship between the quantity of waste that individuals discard and such socio-economic variables as household income, the age of individuals and the population density of the community. In addition she develops a utility maximization model that suggests that user fees do encourage people to recycle waste. Finally she provides simple instructions for forecasting the quantity of waste discarded by a particular community.

This unique book will be essential reading not only for social scientists with an interest in the environment but also for government officials and community activists concerned with the solid waste crisis.