Pay As You Throw began this week in Yarmouth, requiring residents to buy town-issued trash bags for waste disposal.

Town-issued trash bags can be purchased at local retailers for $10 for a package of five 30-gallon bags and $12.50 for a package of 10 15-gallon bags.

Pay As You Throw is an effort to offset the rising costs of trash disposal, recycling and hauling costs, town officials say. Other communities using Pay As You Throw in Maine include Cumberland, Falmouth, Bath, Portland and Brunswick.

Recycling is still a free service.