RecycleBank Sees Massive Growth in 2008, Projects 100 Percent Expansion In 2009

RecycleBank, the leading green rewards and loyalty program that motivates people to recycle, this week announced significant growth figures for 2008, expanding service from 35 municipalities and 100,000 homes in 2007 to over 90 municipalities and 210,000 U.S. households in 2008. RecycleBank is poised to grow by over 100 percent in 2009.

 

RecycleBank started in Philadelphia by demonstrating that its concepts tripled Philadelphia recycling rates and was supported locally by the Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company. (6/20/05 Pa Environment Digest)

 

"With the current downturn in the economy RecycleBank offers cities and families alike the opportunity to save money," says Ron Gonen, CEO and co-founder of RecycleBank. "By revolutionizing the way people view recycling, and ultimately consumption, we are able to put an annual average of $300 to $400 dollars of reward value in people's pockets."

 

RecycleBank has more than doubled recycling rates in every community that deploys the program. To date, RecycleBank households have diverted over 60 million pounds of recyclables from the waste stream, saving more than 600,000 trees and over 45 million gallons of oil. These environmental footprint metrics resulted in over $6 million in savings for municipalities in 2008.

 

RecycleBank motivates households and communities to recycle by rewarding them for the amount they've recycled at home. RecycleBank measures the amount of materials and then converts it into RecycleBank Points that can be used at over 1,200 national and local RecycleBank Reward Partners, including brand giants like Kraft, Coca-Cola, CVS/pharmacy and Target.com, as well as local reward partner locations like grocery stores and restaurants.

 

RecycleBank members also have the ability to donate their RecycleBank Points to local schools for environmental initiatives, as well as dozens of local and national charities. In 2008, RecycleBank members donated 750,000 Points, the equivalent of $75,000 dollars, to local school environmental initiatives.

 

Not only do RecycleBank households save money while helping the environment, but cities like Cherry Hill, NJ, have turned to conservation efforts as a way to relieve pressure on tightening city budgets.

 

"Immediate savings have come from RecycleBank, the recycling initiative that began township-wide on July 1. The program triggered increased recycling participation and lowered landfill fees by $200,000 in the current fiscal budget," said Deborah Campbell, Cherry Hill's chief financial officer.

 

In 2008, participating RecycleBank households redeemed 46,145,150 Points for RecycleBank Rewards; returning money directly back into the local economies in participating communities through reward redemption. This number is up 242 percent over the previous year. Additionally, 688 new local and national RecycleBank Reward Partners signed on to take part in RecycleBank's mission to dramatically increase household recycling rates, up 274 percent over 2007.

 

RecycleBank's long-term connection with households enables reward partners to recognize the vast and unique marketing and advertising opportunities with RecycleBank while building brand value and customer loyalty. The average RecycleBank household earns hundreds of dollars in Reward Points each year for recycling.

 

"2008 was a big year for us because over 1,000 rewards partners participated in the RecycleBank Rewards Program," said Morley Ivers, chief rewards officer of RecycleBank. "We look forward to welcoming our next thousand partners as we continue to inspire households to recycle."

 

In addition to curbside collection, RecycleBank recently expanded the ability of their members to earn extra Points and help the environment through e-waste collection. RecycleBank has joined forces with Collective Good, gazelle and fl!pswap, who all have a like-minded mission to help the environment and uphold the highest environmental standards. Members are prompted to enter details of their devices including brand, model and condition and then can download a postage paid mailing label. Points are awarded and deposited in member accounts once the organization confirms receipt and condition.

 

Over 94 percent of the e-waste devices that come in are refurbished and put back into use. The other remaining 6 percent are properly recycled.

 

RecycleBank, a for profit company, makes money as municipalities pay a cut of the savings generated by diverting waste from the landfill. For instance, if municipalities are currently sending 100,000 tons of waste to the landfill per year at $70 per ton, and RecycleBank is able to get people to recycle and divert half of this waste stream, it results in a savings of $3.5 million.Revenuescome out of these savings.

 

RecycleBank signs long-time contracts and benchmarks against the time started. Revenues are also generated through advertising from people coming onto the RecycleBank.com site looking to redeem their Points. This allows for a number of advertising and sponsorship opportunities.

 

Conservation and sustainability are two of the most important topics in both economic and financial circles. Later this week, RecycleBank will be recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer in Davos, Switzerland.

 

For more information, visit the RecycleBank website.