If the customer and the carter agree that the customer will be billed on a flat or average billing method, whether based on volume or weight, the customer may request that, free of charge to the customer, of the amount of waste that the customer generated over a period of time. The survey must be based on data from a mutually agreed upon time period and must represent an actual average amount of waste collected on those days multiplied by a negotiated dollar rate per volume or weight.

Before the start of the waste stream survey, the carter must inform the customer in writing that a survey is to be conducted and that the customer has the right to participate in the survey. The survey must be shown to and signed by the customer or its authorized representative, and the carter must give the customer a copy of the waste stream survey signed by both parties.