RecycleBank is an American based recycling incentive scheme, however where it differs from something like a reverse vending machine is that the company comes to you to recycle your waste, rather than you having to go to them. This in itself is another incentive that I feel could give RecycleBank an edge over most existing recycling schemes.
The idea of Recyclebank is that they will reward you with vouchers of an amount based upon how much waste you recycle per collection. They have their own refuse collection team, who provide users with larger recycling containers than most of America and the UK. Their philosophy is that the majority of our waste can be recycled, so why should the recycling be the smallest of our refuse containers.
Where RecycleBank has provides its users with a further is the simplicity of the recycling, which is achieved by some very important technology. The New York Times describes, "it was important to spare households the tedium of separating glass, paper, plastic and metal. They (RecycleBank) signed on with the Philadelphia-based Blue Mountain Recycling, which uses sorting technology employing fans, gravity, magnets and manual picking." This technology makes recycling so user friendly that it is even simpler the current schemes employed by most local councils.
The New York Times also discuss the need to be able to weigh the amount of waste being recycled. "One problem for the RecycleBank was trying to find a way to measure the volume of recyclable goods generated by a household and credit that amount to participants. Through Web searches and phone calls, the men identified Cascade Engineering in Grand Rapids, Mich., which provided free several thousand 35- and 64-gallon bins embedded with RFID (radio frequency identification) technology as part of its research and development budget.
The "smart waste" tag, a combination computer chip and bar code, enables the bins to be scanned and weighed and the amount linked to a household. The information is channeled from an on-board computer in the garbage trucks into a databank. The LTS Scale Corporation of Twinsburg, Ohio, was able to configure scales and a tipping mechanism for the containers, which fit on the back of the trucks so the bins can be weighed and easily emptied.
Why not cheat by adding a bowling ball or other heavy nonrecyclable items to the trash? RecycleBank came up with a button on the on-board computer that workers can press to flag the address if they notice contraband. This happens less than rarely."
RecycleBank are funded by money that governments save on recyclable items not being put into landfill, as well as advertising revenue from their website. They then pay their users in vouchers for stores including Starbucks, Home Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond. Users can earn a maximum of $25 per month and $400 per year, whilst being able to check their recycling balance online, which really is quite an incentive. Over 125,000 households participated in 2007 with more being added every year.
In my opinion a system like Recyclebank could really make a huge difference to the way that we think about recycling. Its incentives in terms of money, simplicity and convenience make it a more desirable way of recycling than anything I have previously encountered. Its success on a global scale would be dependent on government attitudes to recycling and its willing to fund such a program.
In the long run saving are likely to be made for these governments, but there will also be a fair cost involved based on the technology that is used. However I believe that this really is a viable alternative that could really get people excited about recycling, understanding the importance of it in the process. If governments already have a refuse and recycling budget that could cater for this scheme, such as some of Europe's richer countries then this is something I could see being introduced on a much larger scale.
https://www.recyclebank.com/
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/business/businessspecial2/21recycle.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin/&adxnnlx=1254855610-5iojVckqWQYLuQWWg8E1Fg
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