Date: August 18, 2009
Source: RecycleBank
Phoenix Partners with RecycleBank to Reward Residents for Recycling
Recycling Rewards Program Will Help Promote Sustainability by Increasing Recycling Participation in Phoenix
The City of Phoenix announced today that it has signed a contract to partner with RecycleBank(R), a program that rewards households for recycling and other positive environmental behaviors. This program is designed to encourage additional recycling participation and complement Mayor Phil Gordon's 17 Point Green Phoenix Plan. It is Mayor Gordon's goal to make Phoenix the greenest city as well as the first carbon neutral city in America. Following Mesa, Phoenix is the second city in Arizona to deploy the RecycleBank program.
RecycleBank motivates households to recycle by rewarding each household for the amount they recycle. RecycleBank measures the amount of material recycled and then converts that amount into RecycleBank Points that can be redeemed for rewards, gift cards, groceries, products and events at hundreds of local and national RecycleBank Reward Partners. Partners include national retailers such as Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, Target.com, Ruby Tuesday and CVS/pharmacy. Local businesses will make up a large portion of the reward offerings so residents can Shop and Play Phoenix while boosting the local economy. There is even an option to donate your RecycleBank Points to local school environmental programs, charities and non-profits.
The City of Phoenix selected 110,000 households in southwest Phoenix for Phase 1 of the RecycleBank rewards program, set to begin on November 30. These areas were selected for a variety of reasons with the purpose of enabling the city and RecycleBank the ability to evaluate the increase in recycling and determine expansion of service. Phoenix has a history rich in recycling innovation, being the first city in the U.S. to introduce comingled (no sorting) recycling in 1989. As we approach the 20(th) anniversary of comingled recycling, it's fitting that the city continues to practice environmental leadership and advancements in recycling with programs like RecycleBank. The RecycleBank implementation in Phoenix will be the first major city to utilize GPS based technology for data collection and transfer at each home.
RecycleBank brings meaningful value for the residents of Phoenix. On average, members earn hundreds of dollars in reward value each year through their recycling efforts. Members redeem their RecycleBank Points online or via phone, where they can also learn about their personal environmental footprint through recycling, read about easy ways to be greener and learn what happens to your recyclables once they leave their container.
"Phoenix is a beautiful place to live, work and raise a family," said Mayor Gordon. "Working with RecycleBank will enable us to meet our recycling and sustainability goals while giving something back to our residents. In economic times like we are experiencing today, saving money on groceries or clothing, at the pharmacy, or even on free movie tickets is a real value."
"The City of Phoenix has set many goals in order to be one of the greenest American cities. RecycleBank will help us to both increase our recycling and lower our waste output," the Mayor explained. "This partnership brings no added cost to the city or the residents. In fact, we will generate revenue from our waste diversion and be that much closer to achieving our sustainability goals."
Success in Phase 1 of the program would lead to a full city wide roll out to the remaining Phoenix households. "Through education, community outreach and communication with our residents, we are confident that we will see great results with RecycleBank," said Phoenix City Councilman Michael Nowakowski, whose District in which the majority of the RecycleBank pilot area resides.
"RecycleBank continues to demonstrate that when financial incentives are aligned, people will make the better environmental choice," said Ron Gonen, CEO of RecycleBank. "We look forward to working with Mayor Gordon and the City Council, the local business community, local community and environmental organizations and households to achieve Phoenix's environmental goals.
Currently, RecycleBank services more than one million people across 20 states and also provides service in the United Kingdom. These households have cumulatively saved more than 1.9 million trees and 123 million gallons of oil through their recycling efforts.
About RecycleBank
RecycleBank is a rewards program that motivates people to recycle. Using the RecycleBank proprietary three-step process Recycle, Record, Reward(TM), we quickly and easily measure the amount of material each home recycles and then convert that activity into RecycleBank Points that can be used at hundreds of local and national rewards partners. RecycleBank is simple to implement, market-driven, and proven to work; saving municipalities' money and rewarding citizens for their environmental stewardship. Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield and Byers, RRE Ventures, The Westly Group and Sigma Partners are institutional shareholders. Ron Gonen, the co-founder and CEO, is the largest individual shareholder. RecycleBank is headquartered in New York City. RecycleBank was recently honored as a 2009 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and has been named as a 2009 Champion of the Earth by the United Nations. Visit www.RecycleBank.com for more information.
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