In an effort to encourage recycling while also raising more money to address residential trash issues, Kauai County officials are considering a program called "Pay as You Throw."

The Kauai County Council’s Environmental Services, Public Safety and Community Assistance Committee heard a presentation this week by County Engineer Larry Dill and Solid Waste Program Coordinator Allison Fraley on Bill 2551 dubbed the Pay as You Throw ordinance. The council will meet on Wednesday for the first reading of a bill.

Under the proposed bill, residents would have the choice of using a 64-gallon trash cart or a 96-gallon cart.

Residents who opt for the smaller cart would pay $12 a month for refuse collection service. Those who opt for a 96-gallon cart would be charged $21 a month.

Currently, the county issues residents one 96-gallon cart or up to three 32-gallon carts.

County officials are considering the switch, in part, because many residents have said they don’t generate enough trash to fill a standard 96-gallon bin.

Nationwide, more than 7,000 communities use the Pay as You Throw concept.

"This is an equitable program that rewards customers who divert waste" from the landfill, Fraley said.

Each household in Kauai County now pays $12 a month for refuse collection services: a $6 base fee that goes to operation of the county’s refuse collection program and an additional $6 for either manual or automated refuse collection service.

County spokeswoman Mary Daubert said about half of the customers are on the manual collection and the others are on the automated collection.

Automated customers currently have 96-gallon carts. Residents with manual collection set out their own trash bins curbside and are allowed to set out up to three 32-gallon bins for collection. Daubert said the county is planning to automate all refuse collections in July 2015, offering the choice of a 64- or 96-gallon cart.

A June 2013 Department of Public Works report said customers using the 96-gallon cart will be able to replace it with a new 64-gallon cart, if requested.

More than 77,000 tons of materials, or 5.1 pounds per capita, were disposed by Kauai residents and businesses in 2013. According to the proposed ordinance, an estimated 60 percent of those discarded materials could have been reused or recycled.

Fraley said Pay as You Throw could yield a reduction of 5,500 tons per year from the waste stream.

Dill said the proposed program could generate $3.51 million, or an additional $770,000 in revenues.

Officials said the revenue increase would help offset solid waste costs. The total cost for the current trash program per household is $56 a month. Costs are subsidized by real property tax revenue.

The second phase of the program that’s slated to start in four years entails curbside recycling and yard waste.

During the committee meeting, Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura described the proposed ordinance as a sustainability bill that could help extend the lifespan of the landfill and set the foundation for curbside recycling.

"I think this is a really good step forward," she said.