VIDEO OF THE WEEK - "RecycleBank"

RecycleBank is a great social marketing incentive example. At each stop, a truck uses a barcode reader to track the address of the recycling bin and an onboard scale to weigh recycled materials. Households can then go online to check their accounts to find out how much they have “earned.” Rewards are in the form of coupons from participating stores. [Adapted from the CRA Training Manual]

Philadelphia-based recycling awards program RecycleBank recently revealed plans for future national expansion. RecycleBank will expand service to include Massachusetts, upstate New York and Vermont by fall 2007, increasing membership to 100,000 homes by the end of the year. RecycleBank, which currently operates in Delaware, southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania, also announced plans to expand nationally by 2009.

News story

Collection in Philadelphia

Recycle Bank in Elkhorn/Omaha NE

Last year my home town of Omaha, Nebraska joined Recycle Bank.

Recycle Bank is a rewards program that motivates people to recycle by providing them with incentives. Omaha saw a 100 percent increase in recycling in one month.

According to the American Recycler, “Through a relationship with Elkhorn Sanitation Service and Firstar Fiber, RecycleBank will continue to rollout its program. Elkhorn Sanitation Service provides participating households with a 96-gallon recycling cart outfitted with a RFID tag that allows RecycleBank to track the total weight and participation of households’ recycling.”

Don’t let me down NE; and make sure to save me a coffee that you receive from all your coupons you’ll get from RecycleBank. Learn more about RecycleBank here.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK – RecycleBank

RecycleBank launched The Cycle, an interactive animation developed to help answer the question of “What happens to my recyclables after I put them out and they are collected?” It takes viewers through each step in the cycle: from recycling collection to processing to manufacturing new products from recycled material. The interactive piece is available both on recyclebank.com in the recycling section (http://www.recyclebank.com/recycling) and also via a standalone site at http://www.explorethecycle.com.

I watched this video and would highly recommend it for middle school students, high school students and adults. It has lots of pros:
- It can be downloaded
- Explains how commingled recycling is separated
- It is broken up into chapters and
- It is unbiased towards any commodity.

Social Marketing 101 – Strategies to Promote Recycling

Guest Blogger – Megan

Welcome to step two of social marketing! Read about Step 1 here. This blog post will focus on different strategies you can use to help promote recycling in your community. According to Fostering Sustainable Behavior, there are five tools you can use to promote behaviors: incentives, norms, prompts, commitment and communication.

Incentives can be used to entice people to want to participate in a program (everyone loves free stuff, right?). For example, someone might be more likely to bring a reusable bag to the store if they receive five cents off their purchase, as opposed to nothing. Make sure to follow these simple guidelines when you are using incentives: pair the incentive with the behavior, make it visible, consider the size of the behavior and look for non-monetary (i.e., cheap) incentives, like good PR.

There are many types of recycling incentives you can choose from, depending on the type of program you want to introduce. There are Pay-As-You-Throw programs like the one in Onslow County, non-monetary incentives like good PR, recycling reward programs like Raleigh’s Recycle and Win program with Coca-Cola, and national incentive programs such as RecycleBank.

The second tool uses norms to promote recycling. Norms can almost be thought of as peer-pressure. For example, if you see your friend recycle their plastic bottle, you probably would, too. Block leaders demonstrating the desired behavior (the norm) in their community or neighborhood goes a long way in promoting recycling.

The third tool, prompts, encourages and reminds people to participate in a certain behavior. When using prompts, make sure to use eye-catching visuals and make it self-explanatory. You will also want to consider locations and put them close to where the action is taking place. It is also better to have an encouraging prompt, rather than a negative one. For example, check out our new “Recycle Instead” decals that are being placed on trash bins across North Carolina!

The fourth tool you can use is commitment. This tool can be as simple as getting somebody to take a picture with a sign promising to recycle their plastic bottles or publically recognizing certain individuals or businesses through local media (Orange County has a great example of this). If someone promises to make a commitment or is recognized for their commitment, then they are more likely to keep practicing the behavior.

The fifth and final tool is just simply communication. The four previous tools also involve communication, so it is important to help your program move forward. Both oral and written communications are key when educating your community. There are several great ways to use written communication, such as brochures, decals, newsletters, posters, truck advertisements and social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc. Local governments can even contact DPPEA for help making a recycling brochure, free of cost.

Next, learn how to pilot and evaluate a project in your community!

Coca-Cola, KAB partner in recycling bin grant program

Reposted from Waste and Recycling News
By Amanda Smith-Teutsch

Feb. 2 -- The Coca Cola Co. and Keep America Beautiful have announced a new partnership for a recycling bin grant program aimed at supporting community recycling. Grant recipients receive donated recycling bins and information on beginning community recycling programs. The bin program is part of a $60 million investment by Coca-Cola in recycling initiatives in the U.S.

"Our company is committed to designing packages that are recyclable and resource efficient," said April Crow, sustainable packaging manager for The Coca-Cola Co. "We also are focused on ensuring that there are strong end-markets for our packages by investing in commercial recycling and community collection programs like RecycleBank and the Recycling Bin Grant Program. We hope this program will encourage communities to expand recycling as we continue to close the loop for our products as well as other valuable recyclables."

Grant applications can be submitted at http://bingrant.org through March 12. Eligible grant recipients include government agencies, civic organizations, schools and nonprofit groups. Successful applicants will be notified on or before April 22.

Since its inception in fall 2007, the Bin Grant program has placed more than 5,700 recycling bins in 150 communities in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Recipients have included municipalities, colleges, Native American tribes, and community-based NGOs. The National Recycling Coalition previously sponsored the program with Coca-Cola.