PAYT works under the basic environmental law principal of polluter pays. The premise is that the person or entity responsible for the pollution, in this case trash and its related impacts on landfills, water, air, etc., is the one responsible for paying the costs. Unlike programs where everyone pays to benefit all regardless of personal use or responsibility, polluter pays requires each person to be responsible for their own pollution. Under unlimited trash disposal, a small generator (i.e. one bag disposer) subsidizes services for a large generator (a household with 5 or 6 bags). Under PAYT, each household only pays for what they throw away. This is a more equitable system than unlimited trash disposal. PAYT has been adopted by over 7,100 communities nationwide (18).