Bags to Riches
- Posted by: Ben Jervey
- on February 15, 2007 at 2:56 pm
If you got paid for it, would you remember to recycle? The paradigm-shifting RecycleBank thinks you might. Its incentive-laden plan has helped household recycling rates skyrocket in some cities—from 30 percent to 90 percent in one Philadelphia neighborhood. It works simply: The company’s trucks pick up all your recyclables (for free) and record the weight. You can then redeem the corresponding RecycleBank Dollars at participating stores—including chains like Starbucks and FedEx, and plenty of local retailers, restaurants, and even bars. Local governments win, too: It is cheaper for the participating cities—in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and soon New York and throughout New England—to pay RecycleBank directly for every household served than to ship the unsorted waste from all households to expensive landfills.
LEARN MORE recyclebank.com
DISCUSSION: 6 Comments
Recycling to me is more of a neccessity than an option. And for me, the satisfaction of knowing that I’m doing my part as one household to help the environment is all the incentive I need. Unfortunately, I’m not able to say that about most of my friends and family. But I know something like this would peak their interests.
This program could be especially proactive if it were funded by corporations that serve the needs of the families and people that participated in the program.
For a family that lives paycheque to paycheque, some RecycleBank Dollars for the grocery store or pharmacy are going to alleviate a lot of stress.
Any company can’t do it in south america!!!, none company in thios side side of the world has logistic conditions to make that enviroment accion. and who knows!!!
The recycle bank idea is Great!!!!!!!
Recyclebank offers a win/win opportunity where one can recycle to reap both an environmental and financial benefit.
Getting Recyclebank to every American household is a good step to helping save the environment.
How can we get the word out to more people, cities, and companies to hop aboard this win/win environmentally and socially responsible initiative?
I live in a city with atleast 3 million in pop… San Antonio, TX. Recycling is completely optional here even though recently the dumpsites had to ask permission from the city to increase the height at which the heaping mass of trash could go!!! Not only is it optional to recycle here, it is also very difficult as this environmentally sound way to dispose of garbage hardly exists. If you want to recycle you must separate all of your items by plastic #, glass color, paper/cardboard, etc. yourself and then drive across the city to drop off…. plastic here, drive another 20 mi to drop off glass here, drive 30 mi to drop off cardboard here. In the mean time you have gone through a tank of gas… WHERE’S the balance?… why do cities not make this a reward system for participants as recycle bank has proven works? VERY aggravating.
I am pleased to find others from San Antonio speaking out about recycling concerns.
I have spoken to many in our city who want to do their recycling share, however, they are put off for the same reasons that you mentioned, mainl having to drive all over town to drop off on different days..etc.
The worst part is that our city only provides recycling options only for those residing in houses.
Those living in apartments and condominiums do not have any of these recycling options.
I reside in a condominium, and have tried to no avail to get the condo association to adopt a recycling program, but because of $$$ involved in setting up a program, they lose interest.
The only recycling I have been able to do is through my workplace..they allow employees to bring paper recyclables to their bins for weekly pick up.
I hope more and more citizens speak up’ perhaps our city leaders (worldwide) will work with us on this.
Glad to know someone else in San Antonio actually reads GOOD magazine! In addition to finding recycling options I have a hard time finding individuals with like interests.
Since I wrote my last post I have been recycling all my paper, magazines, and cardboard @ our neighborhood local elementary (right down the road in the yellow/green bins). I didn’t realize how much of all three of those items I was actually throwing away. It does make up a huge percentage of all trash. Small steps towards something greater, hopefully San Antonio will catch up with the rest of the major cities in the near future. I can only hope.