The introduction of new pay-by-weight trash charges in Ireland seems to have produced a strange and troubling effect: an increase in burn victims at St. James Hospital in Dublin.
Huh?
The theory is that people wanted to avoid having to pay for all their trash so instead they burned it in their backyards. Gary Finnegan, editor of Irish Medical News, alerted us to this strange occurrence:
The idea of the new charges was to encourage the public to “reduce, reuse and recycle” packaging and other household waste. However, it actually encouraged people to burn their domestic refuse rather than pay waste charges to the local councils. There’s no way of knowing just how many people followed this (illegal) course of action, but some of them threw flammable liquids on the home incinerator and needed referrals to burns specialists.
Here’s an academic study on the subject, just published in the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery. From the abstract:
This study demonstrates that the introduction of legislation can have an unforeseen adverse affect on the population if not introduced in correlation with appropriate public education. While the introduction of waste charges represents a very necessary move forward in waste disposal in Ireland, public awareness campaigns should be implemented to prevent further such injuries from occurring.
Indeed.
and 
. You can also watch it on 
Any Texan could have told you that! Rural people know that trash fees are assessed just as any utility fees are. They are a mandatory monthly fee on any home and the fees are the same no matter how much trash you produce.
Otherwise, garbage mysteriously appears at the the end of any road that terminates in your neighbor’s property. It is a southern law by some guy called Murphy.
The is absolutely the most assinine wasteful study. I’m surprised that Levitt didn’t get it pulled in peer review. The problem of garbage disposal was solved years ago in Texas and parts of Louisiana. I really don’t know why you yankees didn’t get the word.
Seriously, I don’t know why we don’t just let Texans run the world. Every thing would run much better.
Any Texan could have told you that! Rural people know that trash fees are assessed just as any utility fees are. They are a mandatory monthly fee on any home and the fees are the same no matter how much trash you produce.
Otherwise, garbage mysteriously appears at the the end of any road that terminates in your neighbor’s property. It is a southern law by some guy called Murphy.
The is absolutely the most assinine wasteful study. I’m surprised that Levitt didn’t get it pulled in peer review. The problem of garbage disposal was solved years ago in Texas and parts of Louisiana. I really don’t know why you yankees didn’t get the word.
Seriously, I don’t know why we don’t just let Texans run the world. Every thing would run much better.
@ egretman
With the former governor of Texas as the current President of the U.S., I respectfully disagree that we should “just let Texans run the world.”
@ egretman
With the former governor of Texas as the current President of the U.S., I respectfully disagree that we should “just let Texans run the world.”
I agree wholeheartedly, dantheman. You make an excellent point.
Since a Texan is already leader of the freeworld, while not just let a Texan run the whole world? There’s not much left really.
I agree wholeheartedly, dantheman. You make an excellent point.
Since a Texan is already leader of the freeworld, while not just let a Texan run the whole world? There’s not much left really.
I’ve seen a related issue in nearby Hanover, NH:
1. Hanover designed their wastewater treatment plant to handle significantly more wastewater than the town was projected to be able to handle.
2. Hanover then implements a per-bag trash disposal fee to reduce household trash.
3. The wastewater treatment plant notices a massive increase in the solids contents of the wastewater, and the plant is now considered too small to serve the community.
That’s right: they charge per-bag to try and reduce waste, and the effect is that people find an alternative disposal process with a lower marginal cost to themselves (a slight increase in water consumption): putting more stuff down the disposal.
A classic example of “hidden costs”, and I’ve seen it other places that have done “pay-per-bag” disposal: people find all sorts of creative ways to get around the system (take your garbage to work, litter, etc.) But most systems are still trumpeted as successes.
I’ve seen a related issue in nearby Hanover, NH:
1. Hanover designed their wastewater treatment plant to handle significantly more wastewater than the town was projected to be able to handle.
2. Hanover then implements a per-bag trash disposal fee to reduce household trash.
3. The wastewater treatment plant notices a massive increase in the solids contents of the wastewater, and the plant is now considered too small to serve the community.
That’s right: they charge per-bag to try and reduce waste, and the effect is that people find an alternative disposal process with a lower marginal cost to themselves (a slight increase in water consumption): putting more stuff down the disposal.
A classic example of “hidden costs”, and I’ve seen it other places that have done “pay-per-bag” disposal: people find all sorts of creative ways to get around the system (take your garbage to work, litter, etc.) But most systems are still trumpeted as successes.