The City of Philadelphia and Recyclebank Renew Partnership

PHILADELPHIA and NEW YORK CITY, June 12, 2014 /3BL Media/ — Mayor Michael A. Nutter announced the City of Philadelphia and Recyclebank®, the company that inspires and rewards smarter, everyday choices for a more sustainable future, have renewed their partnership. Since 2010, Philadelphia and Recyclebank have collaborated to inspire residents to take more green actions through Philadelphia Recycling Rewards, a program that both educates residents on how to live greener and rewards them for recycling at home with valuable deals for local and national businesses. Philadelphia Recycling Rewards is one facet of the City’s broad strategy to achieve a 25 percent residential recycling diversion rate by 2015.

“In recent years, Philadelphia has made incredible strides in its ambitions to build a greener city, but we can all agree that there is more work to be done, and we cannot do it alone,” said Mayor Nutter. “We are focused on forging partnerships that will motivate and inspire our residents to live greener lives in every respect, whether it’s thinking twice before they throw something in the trash, biking to work or taking a shorter shower. I commend the Streets Department and Recyclebank on working together to continually encourage residents to improve their recycling participation. The Philadelphia Recycling Rewards Program continues to be a valuable resource in the City’s recycling success. The partnership with Recyclebank has been invaluable, and we look forward to our continued collaboration.”

After taking office in 2008, Mayor Nutter pledged to make Philadelphia one of the greenest cities in America, and subsequently introduced Greenworks Philadelphia, an ambitious plan that outlined 15 areas of sustainability for the City to enhance, including recycling. Since then, the City has introduced several recycling innovations in an effort help divert more waste from landfills. As a result of these efforts, Philadelphia’s residential recycling tonnages have increased from 74,800 in tons per year in FY 2009 to 125,000 in FY 2014. During that time, the City benefited from approximately $9.2 million in cumulative avoided disposal cost savings and additional recycling revenue. The City's current residential curbside recycling diversion rate is approximately 21.5%.

“I am pleased that the City’s partnership with Recyclebank has brought much needed awareness of the importance of recycling,” said Streets Commissioner David J. Perri.  “Renewing our partnership allows us to continue attaining many of our “green” goals, while increasing participation in the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards Program.”

Philadelphia schools are also active participants in Recyclebank’s Green Schools Program, which awards grant money to schools to fund a unique student project that will green their classroom and community, such as a community garden or water conversation program. Since the Green Schools Program began in 2010, 41 grants have been awarded to Philadelphia schools.

“We believe in the power of public-private partnerships in helping communities achieve their sustainability goals, and our work with Philadelphia is a prime example of the measurable impact that can be achieved,” said Javier Flaim, CEO of Recyclebank. “Philadelphia is one of our longest standing partners and our largest community. Since the creation of Philadelphia Recycling Rewards in 2010, we’ve not only helped the City move the needle against its diversion rate goals,

but also helped local residents realize the financial benefit of making greener choices and cultivated tomorrow’s environmental leaders through our Green Schools Program.”

Since February 2011, Philadelphia Recycling Rewards members have ordered more than $2.5 million worth of rewards with the points they earned from participating in the program. Members can use points to “shop” for discounts at national brands and popular local businesses. For more information on Philadelphia Recycling Rewards, visit http://www.philadelphiastreets.com/recycling-rewards.

ABOUT THE PHILADELPHIA STREETS DEPARTMENT

For more information on the Streets Department, visit http://www.philadelphiastreets.com. Most recently, the department debut its business recycling toolkit on its website at http://www.philadelphiastreets.com/recycling/work-space-business-commercial/commercial-recycling-toolkit. The comprehensive kit will be distributed to the business community as a business recycling resource and how-to manual and reference guide to make recycling easy for businesses every day. The toolkit works as an on-line flipbook, and is also downloadable in PDF format. 

ABOUT RECYCLEBANK

Recyclebank inspires and rewards smarter, everyday choices for a more sustainable future. It brings together people, businesses and communities to achieve real world impact. By participating in household recycling and learning how to live more sustainable lifestyles, more than 4.5 million people earn points that translate into real savings for community and national brands. Recyclebank’s online shop, OneTwine.com, combines the company’s sustainability expertise and rewards program to help people choose products that are better for their home, their wallet and the planet. A Certified B Corporation, Recyclebank is headquartered in New York City. For more information, visit www.Recyclebank.com or find us @Recyclebank or facebook.com/Recyclebank. Recyclebank recently debuted My Recycling Resource, a hyper-local website for City residents that provides information on materials accepted for recycling by neighborhood, statistics that illustrate the need to recycle and information on how the recycling process works.

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