RecycleBank a “Raging Success” - Increases Residential Recycling Rates to over 50%

RecycleBank has brought a groundbreaking recycling concept to neighborhoods in Philadelphia's “Fabulous Northwest” (see story). RecycleBank provides the City of Philadelphia with bar code technology that tracks a household’s recycling volume; households subsequently earn points that can be redeemed for coupons at local businesses. Cities and towns around the nation are looking to Philadelphia as the laboratory for this novel approach to incentivizing household recycling. Patrick Fitzgerald – one of RecycleBank’s founders – reports that the recycling rate in Chestnut Hill neighborhoods served by RecycleBank has increased from 15.5% to 50% percent since the program began in January. Initially, 600 households were involved; the program has since doubled. RecycleBank was launched by social entrepreneurs Fitzgerald (who is from Jenkintown) and Philadelphia native Ron Gonen, who conjured up the business model while graduate students.