City of Fort Worth, Recyclebank Honored with Two Gold Hermes Creative Awards

FORT WORTH, TEXAS, May 14, 2013 /3BL Media/ —The City of Fort Worth, in partnership with Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) and Recyclebank®, the company that rewards people for taking everyday green actions with discounts and deals, was honored with two Gold Hermes Creative Awards from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals for their “Recycle Right!” campaign. The award recognizes the marketing initiatives employed in educating, engaging and rewarding the residents of Fort Worth around their recycling efforts.

The Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional materials and programs, and emerging technologies. The City’s “Recycle Right!” campaign won gold in the integrated marketing and the integrated PR campaign categories.

“The ‘Recycle Right!’ campaign in the City of Fort Worth was a success and it’s an honor to be recognized in partnership with the city for our work on it,” said Javier Flaim, chief sales and marketing officer at Recyclebank. “It’s rewarding to work with such great partners like Fort Worth and Waste Management, who understand the importance of recycling and the impact creative marketing and publicity programs have on engaging their community to bring about behavior change.”

“We knew the combination of Recyclebank’s recycling rewards and the City of Fort Worth would be a worthy partnership and we’re excited to be a part of the equation,” said Steve Kellar, public sector marketing manager at Waste Management. “The success of the ‘Recycle Right!’ campaign is a testament to the power of our combined efforts.”

City of Fort Worth “Recycle Right!” Campaign

In April 2012, the City of Fort Worth launched its “Recycle Right!” campaign with Waste Management and Recyclebank, which aimed to increase recycling participation and community engagement, provide residents with rewards for recycling and enhance outreach and engagement activities. The city worked with Recyclebank to create an integrated marketing and communications effort around the campaign including letters from the mayor, traditional advertising material, direct mail campaigns, social initiatives and a press conference in which Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price sorted out recyclable material from a truckload of waste. Eight months into the campaign, 28, 247 members, or 1 out of every 14 homes, were enrolled in Recyclebank and receiving rewards for their efforts. To view examples of campaign pieces, visit http://igniteitgroup.com/marketing/recyclebank_campaign.html.

ABOUT THE CITY OF FORT WORTH

Fort Worth, incorporated in 1873, is located in Tarrant, Denton, Parker and Wise counties of Texas. The city covers approximately 350 square miles and serves a population of 757,810, making it the 16^th largest city in the United States. Services provided by the city include public safety, municipal courts, housing and economic development, planning and development, engineering, street maintenance, traffic control, code compliance, parks operation and maintenance,  recreation, library services, public events, and general administrative services. Fort Worth was named an All-America City in 2011, 1993 and 1964. For more information on the City of Fort Worth, visit www.fortworthtexas.gov.

ABOUT WASTE MANAGEMENT

Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management visit http://www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.

ABOUT RECYCLEBANK

Recyclebank helps create a more sustainable future by rewarding people for taking everyday green actions with discounts and deals from more than 4,000 local businesses and national brands. Through its online platform and partnerships with municipalities, haulers, small businesses and corporate brands, Recyclebank empowers individuals to make a collective impact on the environment by increasing household recycling and taking other environmentally-friendly actions. A Certified B Corporation, Recyclebank has been recognized as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, a Champion of the Earth by the United Nations Environment Program and for Outstanding Excellence in Public/Private Partnerships from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Recyclebank is headquartered in New York City. For more information, visit www.Recyclebank.com.

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