City of Montgomery To Possibly Pilot National Recycling Incentive Program
The City of Montgomery may be the first in the state of Ohio to host RecycleBank, an incentive-based recycling program where residents receive coupons based on the amount of material they recycle. In partnership with RecycleBank and Rumpke, the Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District (District) is interested in facilitating a two-year pilot project in the City of Montgomery. There is no cost to the residents of the City of Montgomery for participating in this pilot project. The goal of the project is to stimulate participation in community curbside recycling programs and to increase the City’s recycling rate. The project will also determine if the RecycleBank program increases recycling rates.
Why the City of Montgomery?
The City of Montgomery was chosen because residents are accustomed to using wheeled garbage carts and the number of households in Montgomery makes the pilot manageable. To facilitate the program, the District submitted a grant application to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Community Development Grant to offset some of the costs. Results of the grant are scheduled to be announced in May. If the grant is awarded, the pilot project would begin in the fall.
How does the program work?
Participating residents receive a wheeled RecycleBank toter; the toter has an identification code and when the recyclables are picked up, the material is weighed and recorded by the recycling truck, and the amount is then translated into reward dollars for the residents to use at local and national stores. Each participating resident will receive a starter kit with instructions and account information. Individual accounts can be accessed through the RecycleBank website or by phone. The website shows users how much they recycled and how many reward points they have earned. From here, users can redeem their rewards with 400 retail partners that participate in this program. Residents can earn up to $35/month in RecycleBank rewards.
Because RecycleBank is not a hauler, they work with recycling haulers to implement the program. Recycling trucks are equipped with scales. Recycling carts are equipped with radio frequency identification tags. This program only works with carts and single-stream recycling programs.
To learn more about RecycleBank, visit www.recyclebank.com.
For more information about the pilot project, please call the City of Montgomery at (513) 792-8314.