Half of eligible residents sign up to RecycleBank trial

Matthew Tucker, president of RecycleBank, said that the American company had been in consultations with a number of council for the last few months, adding: “We will continue to discuss the scheme to identify appropriate roll-outs for the communities.”

The news came as Windsor and Maidenhead reported that half of the 2,800 residents eligible to use its scheme, a green waste collection, had signed up in its first six weeks of operation – and that there had been a notable rise in green waste tonnages.

The pilot scheme was launched in June (see letsrecycle.com story) and, dependent on its success, will be extended from September this year to cover all materials.

Paul Levett, deputy chief executive at the council's waste contractor Veolia Environmental Services, reported that his company had already seen an increase in the amount of green waste collected.

He commented: “Through the green waste scheme residents have been actively using their green bins and putting them out for collection, therefore sending more green waste through the recycling process, diverting it from landfill.”

However, he added that it was too early to give specific information about the tonnage increase because comparisons are usually made year-on-year.

Councillor Liam Maxwell, the Royal Borough's lead cabinet member for sustainability, told letsrecycle.com that the council had had “positive feedback” from householders about the scheme, which allows residents to collect reward points based on the amount of green waste they collect. The points can be redeemed at a variety of businesses in the area and nationally.

He said that a large number of calls had been received at the RecycleBank call centre from interested residents and that more than 100 rewards have been redeemed by householders who, on average, earned around £10 worth of points per household.

A spokesman for RecycleBank explained that the reward partners, such as Marks & Spencer, fund the points – which give residents money off vouchers towards a variety of products as part of their corporate social responsibility programmes. He added that the vouchers are also a way of increasing the number of customers visiting stores.

The RecycleBank scheme has already received strong support from the Conservative Party, with party leader David Cameron describing it as “a better deal for taxpayers” (see letsrecycle.com story).

However, in March, Westminster city council said that it would not be introducing the scheme due to concerns over logistical issues with flats, despite being hailed by Mayor Boris Johnson as a prime candidate to trial it (see letsrecycle.com story).