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You Can Bank on RecycleBank
What do you get when you start with a low municipal recycling
rate, mix in a business-savvy attitude, and sprinkle generously
with environmental passion? A cutting-edge program like RecycleBank
—
and possibly some money in the bank, too!
RecycleBank was launched in 2004 by entrepreneurs Patrick FitzGerald and Ron Gonen. The Philadelphia-based company rewards households for the weight of materials they recycle. Households can earn up to $400 RecycleBank Dollars per year that can be used at more than 100 participating local and national businesses, including Starbucks, ACME grocery stores, and Bed Bath & Beyond.
In 2005, RecycleBank initiated a pilot in two Philadelphia neighborhoods, upscale Chestnut Hill, which had a 20 percent recycling rate, and low- to moderate-income West Oak Lane, which had a 7 percent recycling rate. Both areas reached over a 50 percent recycling rate and a 90 percent participation rate in just six months. Philadelphia has rarely been above a 5 percent recycling rate since the early 1990s, but FitzGerald and Gonen feel confident they can help the city as a whole achieve 40 percent or higher in just a few years
A second pilot project involving 8,000 Wilmington, Delaware, households started in June 2006, and will eventually expand to all 30,000 area households. RecycleBank launched with Gloucester County, New Jersey, in March 2006 and is scheduled to expand into New England, starting with Burlington, Vermont, in Fall 2006.
So how does the program work? Participating households put all of their recyclables, including paper, plastics, glass and cans (no sorting required) into a RecycleBank container. The containers are then emptied into an existing municipal truck that has been retrofitted with RecycleBank’s technology. Each 35- or 64-gallon bin is embedded with a “smart waste” tag—a combination computer chip and bar code—that enables the bins to be scanned and weighed right at the curb. Once scanned, the bin’s weight is recorded on a computer in the truck and linked to that particular household. After recyclables are collected, households log on to RecycleBank’s Web site, enter their account number, and reap their coupon rewards. Once logged into their account, participants can even see the number of trees and the amount of oil they saved by recycling.
In addition to using RecycleBank credits at participating national chain stores, Philadelphia participants can use their credits to buy green power from a local energy co-operative. For participants who want to give back to their community, Coca-Cola offers to match RecycleBank Dollars with a contribution to local environmental initiatives. All businesses are screened to ensure that they are committed to the environment and the communities in which they operate.
RecycleBank exemplifies the type of program encouraged by our Resource Conservation Challenge within the national priority area of Municipal Solid Waste Recycling.
For More Information:
- RecycleBank
- Resource Conservation Challenge National Priority Area: Municipal Solid Waste Recycling