Recycling News

 -- Quote of the Day -- 

"The Significant problems we face,

Cannot be solved by the same level of thinking

That created them."

~ Albert Einstein

   

-- Positive Eco-News --

 Have you heard of RecycleBank yet? I learned of this organization a few months ago; apparently there are some Canadian cities looking to work with the organization in the near future - which I think is a really interesting idea.

Once a RecycleBank program is put in place for a city, the residents begin receiving awards for recycling. The city benefits from savings in garbage and recycling services, and landfill costs. The local businesses are receiving more traffic due to award points being cashed in at local retailers, grocery stores and shopping centers.  The system has successfully been employed in more than 300 locations throughout the UK and the US, where they have experienced increased recycling rates by as much as 130%, and savings of over $100,000 within the first few months of being put in place. 

Offering incentives like this makes a lot of sense to me - look at the success we have had with the returnable bottles and cans, which often end up supporting the homeless and financially strained, or used to support charities, school functions and youth group activities.

So rather than being charged a collection fee to have curb side service for our recycling bags or bins, participants in this program will be rewarded with club points that they can then spend locally when shopping. Therefore, the more one recycles - the more points you'll get...  It's really a great idea and we hope to see this implemented not just in individual cities, but internationally as a standard way of living. 

Here's some stats on the impact this can have:

Since 2005 RecycleBank has...

- recycled more than 284,291 tonnes of "waste"

- and by doing so, they saved 131 million liters of oil and 4.2 million trees

- leading to a reduction of 866,811 metric tonnes of carbon emissions

(*Source: Recycling Product News)

Find out more about RecycleBank via: www.recyclebank.com

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