Bexleys incentive scheme rolled out to 17,000 flats

An incentive scheme in the London borough of Bexley, which rewards residents on a community basis for waste reduction and recycling, is set to be rolled out to a further 17,000 flats.

The expansion followsa succesful nine month trial involving2,000 flats in the East Thamesmead area.

Under London Green Points scheme,the council measures the waste and recycling levels in the trial areas every three months. If a reduction in waste and an increase in recycling are seen thenit awards green points.Those who then activate accounts online areoffered money-off vouchers at more than 60 local retailers. Alternatively they can redeem their points against more than 1,000 environmentally friendly products or donate them to one of three local charities: MyBnk, Thamesmead Youth Trust and Trees for Cities.

Since its launch, almost a third of residents have activated their accounts. The council said recycling rates have gone up and the amount of waste sent for disposal has decreased since the scheme began, meaning it is now being rolled out to more properties.

Bexley eventually hopes to roll out the scheme to all homes in the borough.

Bexley became the first UK council to introduce the scheme, run by Local Green Points, in October 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story).

Local Green Points is a scheme devised by recycling incentives company Green Rewards, social marketing firm Envirocomms and the environmental consultancy Resources and Waste Advisory Group.

Scheme

Councillor Gareth Bacon, Bexleys cabinet member for the environment, said: Although it is still early days, the fact that we are already starting to see increases in recycling in Thamesmead shows that the London Green Points scheme is working – which is great news!

“The expansion to most flats in the borough will enable even more people to earn points and more waste in the Borough to be recycled.

Flying start

Councillor Bacon had previously said the scheme was off to a flying start as by December 2011 a quarter of the eligible households in area had signed up (see letsrecycle.com story) and the first round of green points had been distributed amongst residents.

Initial funding for the project in Bexley came from the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWaRB) which provided 107,000. However in December 2011 the council said that the cost of the green points going forward was being offset by the savings in waste disposal charges and increased income from the sale of recyclables.

Incentives

Bexley isnt the only council rewarding its residents for good recycling behaviour as Birmingham city council offers its residents in a pilot area Nectar points for recycling paper and card. In February 2012 the council reported that the scheme was a great success (see letsrecycle.com story).

Elsewhere Wokingham, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Halton and Lambeth councils have looked to the American incentive scheme Recyclebank to boost recycling rates(see letsrecycle.com story).