The panel consisted of agency heads and representatives of professional organizations across the country put together by the Cornell University's Waste Management Institute.

In New York City, as in most large municipalities across the country, garbage services are under the auspices of the City and payment is included in the annual tax bill for both residential and commercial properties. There is a different system, however, under which residents are asked to pay for waste collection directly, based on the amount of garbage they actually generate. This is called "pay as you throw" or "PAYT" programs and nearly 2000 communities have begun using them.

PAYT is a different way of paying for garbage collection. In some communities it works on a per-container basis: households and businesses are charged for each bag or container they generate. A few communities bill based on the weight of the trash. Either way, the system motivates people to recycle more and think about how to generate less waste in the first place.

For many communities and businesses the most important advantage of PAYT may be the fairness and greater control over costs that it offers. Under PAYT, everyone pays only for what they produce, no subsidizing your neighbor's wastefulness.

In addition, the PAYT incentive to put less waste at the curb makes a huge environmental difference. When people generate less waste and recycle more, fewer natural resources are used and there is less pollution form manufacturing. Valuable landfill space is conserved as well, reducing the need to site new facilities.

Representatives from cities that have successfully implemented the PAYT program were enthusiastic supporters. Austin Texas, Seattle Washington Buffalo New York and San Francisco California are municipalities currently enjoying the benefits of PAYT. Though their representatives described different rates and methods of collection they all agreed that the long term benefits to the city and communities far outweighed the short term difficulties in administering the program.

Skepticism was definitely the feeling generated by the New York City Department of Sanitation representative. None of the cities represented were anywhere close to the size of New York. Imagine if Staten Island, our least populated borough, had seceded from the City as they wanted to do a number of years ago. That would have made them the second largest city in New York, a distinction Buffalo currently holds.

The challenges to implementing a PAYT form of garbage collection in a city the size of New York would be astronomical. But again, the economical and environmental benefits are worth the effort. Judging though from the enthusiasm of the DOS delegate we'll probably have to wait for another, more enlightened administration, to address the issue.