In Atlanta, Get Free Stuff For Recycling Stuff

ATLANTA -- Recycling is one of the cornerstones of environmental responsibility. But for too many people, recycling is inconvenient -- simply too hard to commit to.

The city of Atlanta thinks it has a way to get people to recycle -- a way that not only helps the environment but the wallet, and the economy too.

It seems like a no-brainer -- instead of throwing things away, recycle them. They can be turned into new products, saving energy and landfill space. But there is resistance.

"We were stagnant in our recycling rates," said the head of Atlanta's recycling program Mary Harrington. "And looking for some way to jump start and motivate people to recycle more."

Beginning this week, the city of Atlanta is testing a recycling program that rewards people for recycling.

"We could sign up on a website to receive reward points for discounts on things that we buy," said recycling program participant Sarah Hankamer.

This pilot program is called R.E.C.A.R.T.: REwards for Collecting All Recyclables Together.

Residents in selected Atlanta neighborhoods put all their recyclables in special blue bins. City recycling trucks scan the identification button on each bin and weigh the materials. Points are assigned to each participating address based on weight.
Residents log on or call toll free to collect their bonus points.

"They can just sort of shop online or call us toll free," said Lisa Pomerantz of RecycleBank, "For anything from groceries, pharmacy, movie tickets, restaurants to massages and eco travel."

Rewards recyclers can also redeem their discount coupons at shops and stores locally.

"More than 40 to 50 percent of the rewards are redemmed locally," Pomerantz said. "So that means we're stimulating local economy."

New York based RecycleBank has designed the incentive recycling program. In each of the 24 other states where they've done this, recycling rates have doubled, tripled, even quadrupled.

If the city of Atlanta gets the results it expects from the rewards-for-recycling program, it hopes to offer it to all its residents.

Other metro cities and counties are also looking at it. To the non-recycler it may be an empty tuna fish can, but to these folks it's a down payment on a full body massage.