A 1 million scheme to reward 100,000 Havering households for reducing waste and recycling more is set to be rolled out by the borough council from early next year.
Havering borough council announced today (November 25) that it has awarded a 999,728, five-year contract to operate the rewards scheme to Local Green Points, a limited liability partnership run by sustainable rewards company Green Rewards.
The scheme will see residents awarded Green Points for the amount they recycle, which can then be spent online on more than 1,000 products, vouchers and experiences. The points can also be donated to one of 12 local charity and community projects.
According to Local Green Points, residents will also receive a Green Points card, which provides discounts and special offers at a large number of local businesses across the borough.
The card will replace the HaveringCard, which was launched by the council in 2009 to help boost trade for local businesses by providing benefits for shoppers in the borough.
Waste and recycling data collected through the incentive scheme will be analysed on a community basis so that flats and households are treated the same, Local Green Points said.
Cost
The cost of the reward scheme is being covered by the 1,008,557 weekly collections support grant Havering council received from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) in November 2012 as part of the governments Weekly Waste Collection Fund (see letsrecycle.com story).
‘I am confident residents, local businesses, schools and community organisations will really get behind this exciting new scheme.’
Havering councillor Barry Tebbutt, cabinet member for environment
Havering councillor Barry Tebbutt, cabinet member for environment, said: Havering has made great strides in recent years. Residents now recycle or compost 35%of household waste compared to just 27 per cent five years ago.
He added: But we want to do even better and I am confident residents, local businesses, schools and community organisations will really get behind this exciting new scheme.
Local Green Points
The Havering scheme will be the fifth operated by Local Green Points in the UK, following similar incentive schemes launched by: Rother district council; the royal borough of Greenwich council; and Gloucester county council in partnership with Cheltenham borough council.
The first incentive scheme organised by Local Green Points in the UK was launched in the London borough of Bexley for residents living in flats in October 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story), for which initial funding came from the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB).
Graham Simmonds, managing director for Local Green Points, commented: Our focus as a company is on delivering measurable behaviour change by motivating and getting people to do the right thing, and the reward scheme will include a very broad range of rewards and incentives, including an option to donate points to local community projects; with over 1,000 reward and incentive offers available for Havering residents, including iTunes and Luncheon Vouchers, there will be something for everyone and I am confident the scheme will prove to be very popular with residents.
iESE
Havering council received assistance with the contract procurement process from the Dynamic Procurement Purchasing System, set up by the royal borough Windsor and Maidenhead and the Improvement and Efficiency Social Enterprise (iESE).
Councillor Paul Bettison, Chairman of iESE, commented: Ensuring residents have the right information and the encouragement to think differently about how they deal with their waste is essential. This new partnership will inspire people further as it supports local community projects and they will soon be noticing the differences and the contributions they are making to their environment.
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