New research shows that Americans may have absorbed public messaging about the importance of recycling too well.

Polar bears are increasingly seeking sustenance in human trash because of melting sea ice and a loss of hunting opportunities. The result is a rise in human-bear conflict – and dead bears.

When governments want people to do less of something, one way to make that happen is to charge them for doing it. That’s the idea behind pay-as-you-throw waste policies.