Casella Waste Management, Rutledge, Vt., has formed a partnership with Philadelphia-based RecycleBank in which RecycleBank gets a portion of the proceeds from the recyclables Casella sells.
For every 10 pounds of recyclables a household diverts from the waste stream, RecycleBank provides $5 in coupons from local and national retailers up to a $25 maximum per month. The retailers absorb the costs of the coupons, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, and RecycleBank generates its profits from fees paid by private haulers or communities.
According to the paper, Casella and RecycleBank plan to offer the reward program to 100,000 New England homes in 2006.
“It’s one of the most innovative ideas we’ve seen in 20 years,” John W. Casella, CEO of Casella Waste Systems, says of RecycleBank. He tells the Philadelphia Inquirer that millions of homes could eventually be involved in the program.
A pilot program rolled out the RecycleBank program to residents in parts of Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill and West Oak Lane neighborhoods, but the city has not decided to commit to the program, expanding it the rest of the city.
However, the Philadelphia suburbs of Warrington and Montgomery Townships have made the program available to 1,500 households, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The company works with private hauler Ches-Mont Disposal in those communities.