Monday, November 16, 2009

Today, Derby Mayor Dion Avello and Waste Connections Inc. Division Vice President Jim Spencer announced that the City and the waste and recycling hauler have joined forces with RecycleBank® to dramatically increase household recycling volumes with a new rewards-for-recycling program. In July, the Derby City Council approved a contract with Waste Connections to provide franchised trash and recycling services for the City. With the changes, trash bills will go down for most Derby residents in December and curbside recycling with rewards will be available to everyone. This week, Waste Connections will begin delivering new 95-gal. recycling carts to households, as well as new trash carts.

Already a success in neighboring Wichita as well as in 24 states and in the United Kingdom, RecycleBank, the premier recycling rewards program, encourages people to recycle by rewarding households with Points for their efforts. These Points are redeemable at local and national retailers, restaurants, grocers, and more. There is also an option to donate Points to local school environmental programs and to non-profit organizations.

“Partnering with Waste Connections and RecycleBank is a great way to protect our environment, invigorate our local economies, keep our communities clean, and deliver meaningful, everyday savings to Derby families,” Mayor Avello said. “Everybody wins-recycling has never been so rewarding.”

By encouraging households to recycle with the added incentive of RecycleBank rewards, Derby collects more recyclables, reducing waste otherwise destined for landfill disposal. Moreover, it’s easier than ever for residents to recycle-the new program brings with it single-stream recycling, in which households can place all acceptable recycling materials into one cart-no more sorting. The recycling carts include an ID tag that matches the cart to the household address and account number. Waste Connections trucks, retrofitted with special technology, track recycling activity, and the amount recycled is converted into RecycleBank Points. Similar to frequent flier programs, the more a family recycles, the more RecycleBank Points each household earns.

“Residents will love the savings that these great rewards offer, simply for recycling,” Spencer said. “It’s nice to be rewarded for doing something good. An average recycler has the ability to earn and redeem hundreds of dollars worth of rewards each year. Who wouldn’t want free movie tickets and discounts at the grocery store and pharmacy in today’s tough economy?”

Derby residents must activate their RecycleBank account to receive rewards for recycling. They can do so online at www.RecycleBank.com or by calling the RecycleBank Customer Care Center at 1-888-727-2978. RecycleBank Points are redeemable for rewards, gift cards, groceries and
products from local reward partners such as All-Star Entertainment, Derby Bowl and Seneca Bowl, Wichita Thunder Hockey, Talliano's Pizzeria, Damm Pharmacy/Derby Drug, the Coffee House and more, as well as from a host of national partners such as Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, Dick’s Sporting Goods, CVS/pharmacy, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and others.

“As RecycleBank continues to expand across the United States, our vision of rewarding every house on every street for recycling is becoming a reality,” said Ron Gonen, co-founder and CEO of RecycleBank. “Derby recognized the value that RecycleBank brings to communities by helping them reach their environmental goals, putting savings in their residents’ pockets and invigorating the local business community. This environmental leadership shows area residents that recycling is something that they can do today to truly make a difference tomorrow.”

New trash service and the new rewards-for-recycling program begins Dec. 1, 2009. For more information, visit www.wasteconnectionswichita.com or www.derbyweb.com/trash-recycling.cfm.