City of Atlanta Launches Pilot Incentive Based Recycling Program
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Pilot Recycling Rewards Program Will Help Promote Sustainability by
Increasing Recycling Participation in Atlanta 10/30/09 The City of Atlanta announced yesterday that a select group of
Atlanta residents will soon be rewarded for their curbside recycling efforts. In
an effort to encourage proper recycling habits, boost recycling participation,
reduce the amount of recyclables being sent to area landfills and save taxpayer
money, City officials introduced the pilot rewards program as an opportune way
to move towards a greener, cleaner Atlanta.
In order to complement Atlanta’s existing sustainability initiatives, the
City of Atlanta has partnered with Rehrig Pacific, a container company and
service provider, to bring a unique incentive based pilot recycling program to
its residents. As part of this pilot program, Rehrig Pacific has
collaborated with key sponsor Coca-Cola Recycling, LLC and rewards partner
RecycleBank® to offer Atlanta residents a premiere rewards and loyalty program
that incentivizes household recycling. City officials are confident they
will see a rise in recycling volumes and a decrease in waste tonnages. In
addition to the benefit to the environment, the rewards program will give
residents and local businesses a needed economic boost. The City of Atlanta selected 10,000 households for the incentive based pilot
recycling program. The participating households represent a cross section
of recyclers throughout the City. The RecycleBank® rewards program will
encourage better participation in the curbside recycling program. It will
also allow the City to evaluate changes in the amounts of recyclables collected
from residents participating in the pilot program. “Incentive based recycling will help us to meet our recycling and
sustainability goals while giving something back to our residents. During
today’s recession and economic climate, saving money on groceries, on clothing,
or at the pharmacy translates to great value. We have found a way to provide
real financial rewards and help the environment at the same time,” said Mayor
Franklin. Each home in the pilot area will receive a brand new 96-gallon blue cart,
retrofitted with an ID tag with the resident’s household address and RecycleBank
account number. City trucks have been retrofitted with technology to read the
cart ID tag. Upon activating their account with RecycleBank, either online or by
phone, the household will begin to earn RecycleBank Points with every pick-up. Points can be redeemed for rewards, gift cards, groceries, and products at
hundreds of local and national RecycleBank Reward Partners. Partners include
giant national brands and retailers such as Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, Target.com,
Publix, and CVS/pharmacy, as well as local partners like Zoo Atlanta, Radial
Café, Rita’s Water Ice, MetroFresh, Edgewood Avenue Pizza, and Six Feet Under. Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), housed in Atlanta, is a significant player in making the pilot program a reality for their local neighbors. Through sponsorship dollars, they have enabled the purchase of the ten-thousand Rehrig Pacific blue recycling carts needed for the pilot program. ABOUT THE PARTNERS CITY OF ATLANTA The City of Atlanta Recycling Program is a division of the Department of
Public Works /Office of Solid Waste Services (click
here for info). This division promotes and supports recycling initiatives
and programs, and educates City employees and the general public about waste
reduction and recycling programs and opportunities. This division also
serves as a liaison with local, state, and federal agencies on recycling issues
to ensure responsiveness to problems and concerns, prepares grant proposals, and
maintain records on the City’s recycling programs. The ReCART incentive based
curbside recycling pilot project is a prime example of the City’s efforts to
increase the amount of recyclables going to productive end uses rather than to
area landfills. RECYCLEBANK RecycleBank is a rewards program that motivates people to recycle. Using
the RecycleBank proprietary three-step process Recycle, Record, Reward™. 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. COCA-COLA ENTERPRISES Through this partnership, the goal of the world’s largest bottler is to
increase opportunities to recover and recycle in the marketplace through
Coca-Cola Recycling. Through recovery of the Atlanta materials, Coca-Cola
can expect 150 metric tons of packaging materials. Coca-Cola Enterprises is the
world's largest marketer, producer, and distributor of bottle and can liquid
nonalcoholic refreshment. REHRIG PACIFIC Rehrig Pacific is an international company with operations and licensees
worldwide manufacturing an ever-expanding product line of sustainable packaging
products that includes plastic crates, pails, carts, and pallets designed to
handle, store, and transport goods in the agriculture, bakery, beverage, dairy,
environmental and retail materials handling marketplaces. |
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