Rethinking municipal tariff systems to improve urban waste governance
LIFE-REthinkWASTE promotes innovative urban waste governance through Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) and Know-As-You-Throw (KAYT) schemes in European municipalities. It pilots its approach in four areas, Etra’s service area (IT), Varese (IT), Bitetto (IT), and Sant Just (ES), engaging around 650,000 citizens in separate collection of household and municipal waste, including bio-waste. Residual waste reductions reach up to 28%, especially where PAYT and KAYT are combined. The project uses digital tools, personalized feedback, quizzes, WhatsApp messages, and local awareness campaigns to encourage behavioral change. It also provides self-assessment and planning tools for municipalities to adopt the approach. LIFE-REthinkWASTE supports replication in over 60 municipalities, promotes circular economy practices, and demonstrates that targeted incentives, citizen engagement, and clear communication significantly improve waste sorting, recovery rates, and overall urban resource efficiency.
Duration: 2019 – 2022
Programme: LIFE
Project ID: LIFE18 GIE/IT/000156
Total Budget: € 2,764,715
Keywords: waste reduction, cipublic awareness campaign, social participation, municipal waste, PAYT, KAYT, environmental education, separated collection