GEMExpert – Household waste: How to better promote volume-based pricing to the public?

Interview with Corinne Faure, Professor of Marketing at Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM), and Lesman Ghazaryan, PhD student

Is France really behind in implementing volume-based pricing?

Corinne Faure: France has not met the targets it set for itself. The system was supposed to apply to 25 million French citizens by 2025, but we’re currently at fewer than 7 million. That puts us well behind other European countries such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, or to a lesser extent, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Lesman Ghazaryan: Some metropolitan areas have implemented or tested it, for example Strasbourg and Lunéville, while others talk about it without taking concrete steps. Moreover, certain objections are quite prevalent, such as the risk of “waste tourism”: if people pay individually and by volume, they might start dumping their waste in nature or in their neighbor’s bin.

How did you go about comparing communication strategies?

C.F.: We surveyed 620 members of the Grenoble-area research panel at a time when the transition to volume-based pricing was expected to occur within one or two years. That way, the entire sample was in the same initial situation.

Lesman Ghazaryan: We divided the population into three groups. The first received a simple technical description of the new system. The second received the same, plus a message emphasizing the environmental benefits. The third group received a message focusing on fairness: I am taxed based on the amount of waste I produce, so those who pollute more pay more.

Which message gained the most support?

L.G.: Compared to the plain presentation, adding a message increased the acceptability of the incentive-based pricing. In other words, this system isn’t self-evident; it needs justification.

Between the two messages, the fairness message led to a significant increase in acceptance, whereas the environmental message had no statistically significant effect. So, the “polluter pays” argument is much more persuasive than highlighting the system’s environmental benefits, like reducing waste and improving recycling quality.

What advice would you give to local governments wanting to adopt volume-based pricing?

C.F.: Our work focused on a limited sample and aimed simply to compare messages. But I draw two key takeaways. First, communication and education efforts are essential to “sell” the system. These cannot be skipped. Second, messages must be adapted to different sociodemographic groups. For example, the fairness message is most effective with younger audiences who have higher education and income levels. Further research will be needed to refine and expand this targeting.

The publication
Lesman Ghazaryan, Corinne Faure, Joachim Schleich, Mia M. Birau,“Transition from a fixed fee to a pay-as-you-throw waste tariff scheme: Effectiveness of environmental and accountability appeals”, Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 385, 2025.

Bio snapshots
Corinne Faure is a Professor in the "Consumer Behavior" research team at Grenoble Ecole de Management. Her research focuses on eco-responsible behaviors and the acceptability of policies or technologies related to energy efficiency.

Lesman Ghazaryan is a PhD student in the "Marketing Strategy and Innovation" research team at Grenoble Ecole de Management. His research focuses on marketing strategy and innovation, with a particular interest in building tailored data ecosystems that provide actionable insights for marketing decision-makers and inform high-impact policy recommendations.

Joachim Schleich is a Professor and researcher in the "Energy and Environmental Management" team at Grenoble Ecole de Management. His research focuses on energy, climate policy, and innovation. He is also a member of the Energy for Society Chair, which explores the energy transition and public acceptance of renewable energy.

Related GEM programs

▶ MSc Energy Business & Climate Strategy 

▶ Master in Management (Grande Ecole Program)