Windsor prepares for second phase of RecycleBank trial

The council has issued the bins to 3,800 households in Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead under the second phase of its trials of the American scheme which sees residents awarded discounts and vouchers at high-street shops based on the amount of material they recycle at the kerbside.

Windsor and Maidenhead launched an initial pilot of the scheme on June 1 to cover garden waste collections and, under the second phase, residents in the new pilot areas will be able to receive reward points for recycling cans, glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles and paper. Residents will be able earn a maximum of £135 per year in vouchers and discounts under the dry recyclables scheme.

Cllr Liam Maxwell, lead member for sustainability, said: “With the majority of green waste subscribers activating their RecycleBank accounts, we can see how popular the scheme is already and its potential for the future. The council is committed to rewarding people for their recycling, not imposing penalties, and we are delighted to be working with our partners to give even more residents the opportunity to benefit.”

Around 200 households in the Windsor and Maidenhead area already part of the phase one green waste scheme will also be invited to participate in phase two of the scheme for commingled recycling due to an overlap in collection rounds.

Matthew Tucker, President of RecycleBank commented: “Households in both phase 1 and phase 2 of the programme will benefit from using both schemes side by side, and will not need to reactivate their accounts.”

“They will have an additional opportunity to gain more Points which could be worth up to £175 per year in rewards value for their annual recycling efforts (£40 for green waste and £135 for mixed recyclables). These households will clearly experience the RecycleBank scheme and see firsthand that recycling for rewards really does work for the householder, community, local businesses and the environment,” he added. 

Under the scheme, material collected by the councils' waste contractor Veolia Environmental Services is weighed using identification equipment in the bins. RecycleBank reward points are then allocated based on the weight of the bin and the points can then be used to buy goods and services from participating shops and businesses or they can be donated to charity.

Paul Levett, deputy chief executive of Veolia Environmental Services, said: “At Veolia Environmental Services our aim is to provide local authorities and businesses with the most innovative methods and technologies for sustainable living. This scheme is one of the ways we're working with our local authority partners to encourage environmental best practice.”

The launch of the pilot RecycleBank scheme in Windsor and Maidenhead in June was welcomed by Conservative leader David Cameron (see letsrecycle.com story), and, in July, Veolia reported that half of the residents eligible for the scheme had opted to take part (see letsrecycle.com story).

Last month, long-time advocate of the RecycleBank scheme, London Mayor Boris Johnson announced plans in his environmental programme to introduce a number of pilot schemes for the rewards-based recycling incentive scheme in London over the next two years (see letsrecycle.com story).