Project type                           Introduction of PAYT system and related waste charge

Partners                                  Municipality of Argentona (implementing authority)

Beneficiaries                         Argentona municipality / citizens

Dates                                      2009 – Ongoing

Fuding                                   Own resources and grants received from the Waste Catalan Agency (ARC)

The PAYT system started with an initial residents’ participation process, followed by an information campaign during a pilot period of 3 months. The permanent staff and the information office followed the system operation and the users’ performance, which are key tools for the success of the model.

The PAYT scheme relies on the introduction of pre-paid standardized bags (with the town council’s logo) for residual waste (red) and lightweight packaging (yellow). Such bags were initially introduced for both businesses and households, but later, the yellow bags were eliminated for residents. The PAYT was also applied for the biowaste produced by businesses.

The household waste charge is divided into two parts: (1) a progressive part modulated depending on the number of residents per household and (2) a variable part as a function of the residual waste bags used. The municipality provided some bags included in the fixed part of the charge (10, 20 or 25 bags depending on the household’s members). Additional bags must be purchased at collaborating shops at a cost of 0.65€/17L bag.

Businesses pay a part of the charge calculated based on the surface of their premises and the type of activity they carry out and a variable part based on the number of standardized bags used for residual waste (2.5€/65L bag) and light packaging (1€/100L bag). Additionally, they pay separately for the biowaste bin depending on its volume.

• Between 2008 and 2019, the amount of waste generated daily per capita decreased by 26% to 1.27 kg/inhab/day. During the same period, the rate of separate waste collection increased from 52.8% to 87.6%. Residual waste dropped by 15% between 2009 and 2013 and packaging waste by 16%.
• The quality of the separately collected waste has remained high. The use of the municipal collection centers has increased. The system has been widely accepted by most of the population and was the subject of a broad political action.
• The monitoring activities to follow the system functioning and the users’ performance are key tools for its success. The introduction of the PAYT system requires i) an initial participation process, ii) an information campaign and iii) an initial test period to be successful. The pre-paid standardized bags are economical elements for the introduction of PAYT systems.