Philly rewards recyclers

Recycling Today, March, 2005

Philadelphia began a pilot program in January in which residents receive store coupons as incentives to participate in the city's recycling program.

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, 6,000 households in Chestnut Hill and East Oak Lane can participate in the six-month pilot. Depending on how much material they recycle, households can earn $5 in restaurant and store coupons for every 10 pounds they recycle up $25 per month. Residents will receive monthly statements showing their earnings.

The Inquirer reports that each of the 6,000 households will receive a 36-gallon container stamped with a unique bar code. Specially equipped trucks will scan the bar code and weigh the recyclables, which will include paper, cans, glass and plastic--a material that is not collected in other areas of the city-during collection. Patrick K. Fitzgerald and Ron Gonen of RecycleBank, Blue Bell, Pa., developed the idea.