UK trials rewards to householders for recycling

Residents are to be rewarded for recycling under a scheme by one council which aims to reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill.
The Telegraph 27 Feb 09;

The trial programme by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead will see householders accumulate reward points for recycling which can then be redeemed in local shops and businesses.

The council hopes the scheme will cut its landfill tax bill, as well as generating rewards for residents and boosting the local economy.

The pilot will use wheelie bins fitted with an identification tag which identifies the household the bin belongs to, using an automatic reader on the refuse vehicles.

When the recycling bin is collected, it will be weighed and a corresponding amount of points will be allocated to the household.

The scheme will be run in conjunction with Recyclebank, which runs a similar reward scheme in the US, and the council's waste contractors Veolia.

Liam Maxwell, lead member of the council for sustainability, said: "I am very pleased to be working with Veolia and Recyclebank to bring this innovative programme to our residents.

"It will reduce our landfill tax liability and give residents rewards that they can use in local shops and businesses - a great way to help the local economy."

He added: "It reinforces our ongoing commitment to weekly bin collections."

The council plans to system-test the scheme with green waste in May and will then pilot the Recyclebank programme with co-mingled collections, which means residents can put all their recycling in one bin.

There will be a maximum number of redeemable points to prevent abuse of the system, for example residents generating extra rubbish for recycling to get points.

David Burbage, leader of the council, said: "This scheme is a great way to increase recycling and shows our commitment to effective environmental management."

The Tories have backed schemes which reward people for recycling, similar to those in the US in which residents are paid up to £25 a month to recycle.

The US schemes have boosted the amount of waste being recycled by as much as 200% in some areas.

But a pilot by the Government to introduce "pay-as-you-throw" schemes which would have charged extra to those who created the most waste was kicked into the long grass earlier this year after no councils came forward to take part.