Print edition: 
Would you throw less away if it meant a cheaper trash bill?
People in other cities have.
Now Wichita is looking into a new pay-as-you-throw approach to reduce the amount of garbage trucked away to regional landfills.
It's not clear exactly how it would work.
Haulers could offer consumers different rates based on the size of trash container they use or charge based on the number of bags or the weight of the trash.
That would let people who throw less pay less.
Since the city plans to require companies to offer recycling, the change also would encourage folks to recycle rather than throw everything in the trash.
One study by the Environmental Protection Agency found that communities that used pay-as-you-throw experienced a 25 percent to 45 percent reduction in waste.
The new idea comes months after the city gave up on a proposal to create a trash haulers cooperative that would have given consumers trash pickup, recycling and once-a-year bulk waste pickup for the universal price of $20 a month.
Many residents scoffed at the plan because it would take away their ability to pick a hauling company. Many people had negotiated deals with trash companies or through neighborhood associations that come out to less than $20 a month.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted by Wichita Independent Neighborhoods that was released last week shows 56 percent of the 393 responses in favor of the co-op idea.
But it also showed that half of the people want the city to leave its current system in place.
"From our perspective, that just said people need a lot more knowledge," said Kathy Dittmer, a member of WIN's board and chair of its action committee. "The discussion probably needs to continue so people can grow in understanding and knowledge and so we can learn what problems people have."
City Manager Robert Layton said the survey shows the community is divided on changes to trash service.
Layton said it became clear during community discussions that people pay vastly different rates for service and that many people, seniors in particular, are frustrated paying the same rate as a large family even if they throw only a bag or two out each week.
"Once we heard that feedback, we kind of went back to the drawing board," he said.
Layton said he still needs to have a face-to-face meeting with hauling companies to get their input on the pay-as-you-throw idea.
David Lies, vice president of Lies Trash Service and president of the Independent Haulers Association, said he has talked with Layton about requiring single-stream recycling, which allows consumers to throw all recyclable things into one container instead of separating.
But Lies said he hasn't talked about the pay-as-you-throw plan yet.
He said pricing based on container size is probably the only way to make the idea work since most companies don't have trucks that can weigh trash at each house.
The price difference between containers would probably have to be $9-$12 to get people to downsize, he said.
Haulers would probably also need to restrict how many times per year consumers change cart sizes to prevent people from switching week by week.
After getting feedback from the haulers, city staff will probably present the idea to City Council members in a workshop meeting and to neighborhoods at district advisory board meetings before it goes to the council for a vote.
Comments accompanying WIN's trash survey by unnamed respondents foreshadow some sentiments.
"Stay out of my trash business!" one person wrote. "I want the freedom of choice."
"Nearly every other major city in the country (except Wichita) has adopted strategies for franchise trash systems and/or curbside recycling, so what's up with us?" one person asked. "It appears the city/county council is afraid of making an unpopular choice, but the data shows that it is inevitably correct and well received. Come on!"
Another person said the city should just publish an annual pricing and service survey of consumers so people can be informed about who they pick for service.
Several people said they simply don't know enough about the topic.
"Truthfully, I'm a bit uninformed and would need more info," one person wrote.
