A Green Lifestyle Idea That Rewards You – Getting Paid to Recycle
Could working toward a green lifestyle actually put money in your pockets? It can if you get paid to recycle.
The idea of getting paid to recycle may sound far-fetched but that is not the case. Enter a company from Pennsylvania who has come up with an ingenious idea about how to encourage people to recycle. The company is called RecycleBank, and it’s a Philadelphia-based private enterprise that has a high tech idea about how to interest more people in recycling. Here’s how you may be able to make this work for you.
The concept is remarkably simple, yet also high-tech. Issue wheeled totes, each with an implanted computer chip, to people who will assist with recycling. The implanted chip keeps certain information about the people who own the tote-name, address and phone number. In addition, the chip carries a bank account number, linked to RecycleBank, that automatically tallies the amount of recyclable waste that is turned in to a collection truck. The truck is equipped with a special computer and barcode system that calculates the value of the items turned in for recycling. It functions along the same lines as the self-serve lane at a supermarket.
Once the data for the recycled material is recorded, the computer calculates an amount of RecycleBank Dollars that are deposited into the RecycleBank account of the customer, who then can use to those RecycleBank Dollars at participating retailers.
Some of the companies already working with RecycleBank include Target, Starbucks and Whole Foods Market, and their hopes are to have many local businesses included as well. The RecycleBank Dollars are somewhat flexible and can be used in different ways, according to the preference of the customer. For example, you could choose to donate your RecycleBank Dollars to a local charity or organization rather than spend the money on yourself.
I think this company has a great idea: people are provided with an opportunity to help conserve resources, keep their local environment cleaner, and help an organization of their choice. In keeping with a green lifestyle, encouraging recycling also meets one of the three Rs (the three Rs are reduce, reuse, recycle).
Getting paid to recycle is not only an opportunity for consumers and homeowners. Small businesses can also participate.
The incentives created by RecycleBank are also better than alternative that has been proposed. Called “Pay-As-You-Throw” (PAYT), this concept operates in the opposite direction of RecycleBank’s program. Consumers are required to pay for what they throw away rather than be rewarded for what they recycle. Human nature being what it is, the reward will likely attract more participants than the punishment.
Many cities and towns can gain not just from the monetary benefits of a program like RecycleBank, but also from the incentive to clean up the local environment by residents. If the program is available where you live, you have the opportunity to earn money from your recycling efforts. Check it out.
