Reposted from the Triangle Business Journal: WasteZero, the Raleigh-based, pay-as-you-throw trash metering service, serves 800 municipalities across the country, but Raleigh is not one of them.

During the October Raleigh City Council meeting, Mayor Nancy McFarlane asked staff to take a look at alternatives to reduce the amount of waste that goes into the landfill. According to the meeting minutes, she asked her staff to consider something “such as a pay-as-you-throw or other incentives-type things to reduce the amount.”

“Raleigh is our home base, and we would be thrilled to be able to help the city, but it’s up to the city,” said Joshua Kolling-Perin, public engagement director for WasteZero. “We do believe we could make a tremendous impact on solid waste reduction to save the city money and help the environment.”

WasteZero partners with municipalities to reduce waste by having citizens purchase WasteZero’s garbage bags made in the U.S. from recycled materials. Buying bags up-front makes people consider what gets tossed, and according to WasteZero’s studies, waste is reduced by nearly half within weeks of implementation.