Dive Brief:
- The city of Philadelphia and RecycleBank announced an extended partnership. The two have worked together since 2010 to find ways to encourage the community to recycle.
- One of the projects, the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards program, has met great success, and is cited as part of the strategy to help the city reach a residential diversion rate of 25% by 2015.
- As a result of the RecycleBank project, the curbside recycling rate in Philly neighborhoods has grown. In 2009, residents recycled 74,800 tons of trash annually; this increased to 125,000 tons in 2014 so far. The current diversion rate is hovering around 21.5%.
Dive Insight:
Although the partnership has met with great success in Philadelphia, many cities have decided against an extension for various reasons. Ann Arbor, MI voted to end its contract after the program failed to significantly improve recycling. Members of the city council in Oak Ridge, TN considered ending its partnership to save $124,000 in annual expenses, ultimately dropping the plan in April of 2013.