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People like to say they're going to recycle. They get excited about it, and
cities, realizing there is, in fact, money to be made, get excited too.
But then, something happens. It just seems so inconvenient to walk all the way across the room to put that can in a separate bin. In the end, recycling trucks end up driving around half empty, wasting more gas than their saving.
So, if there's money to be made, why not see that you, the recycler gets a piece of the action, instead of basing the system solely on the guilt consumers feel. By putting RFID tags in recycling bins and having the waste collectors weigh the bins, a new start-up, Recycle Bank, calculates who actually recycles, and can thus grant those people rewards.
Now, they don't actually get paid, they just get free stuff from cool companies.
Whole foods, Starbucks and Bed Bat and Beyond are all in on
the deal, providing free stuff to good recyclers. You can even track
how much you're recycling online. The companies are happy to get their
name attatched to a cool cause, the city saves money on landfills, and
the recyclers get free stuff. In the end, Recycle bank is able to
charge the city less than the city saves, and everyone comes away with
more money in their pocket.
Genius.
Via Sustainablog and Forbes
Via Sustainablog and Forbes
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Comments (6)
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written by sense, February 28, 2007
People who produce little waste are not rewarded for being green. The likelyhood is that those who recycle the most do so because they make the most waste. Not a green idea...
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written by Sheila Dale, April 26, 2007
Hi, I love this idea and have been thinking of something very similar. Do you know if there are any examples of this type of initiative currently in practice?
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written by Robyn, September 09, 2007
Recycle Bank is operating in several states. I can tell you that if they or another company like this was operating where we live. I would participate. I would also encourage the school and PTA where I teach. It could be a great fundraiser.
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written by celia, November 24, 2007
I find that people who recycle the least have the most fat. If the obese of this country would get off their fat asses to recycle, we as a country could be proud to say we're not so fat.
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written by monique, January 25, 2008
you can request service from Recyclebank here http://recyclebank.com/register.cfm although I know they are rolling out the program community by community at this point.
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