Sacramento and RecycleBank Team Up for Innovative Partnership

NEW YORK, May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Residents in Sacramento now have a new incentive to go green. Through a pilot program offered by a public/private partnership with RecycleBank, residents of Sacramento's South Meadowview neighborhood will receive valuable rewards such as savings on groceries, pharmacy costs, sporting goods, school supplies and much more—for their recycling efforts. The program begins today, and city officials expect to see an increase in clean recyclables, a marked decrease in contamination, and meaningful savings on items such as groceries and household items for their residents. Sacramento is the second city in California to collaborate with RecycleBank, following Los Angeles, which began its program in April. RecycleBank is funded by a grant from the CalRecycles—State of California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery.

RecycleBank is a rewards program that motivates people to take greener actions, like household recycling, by rewarding them with points that are redeemable for rewards from local and national retailers, restaurants, pharmacies, grocers, and more. Similar to frequent flier programs, the more families recycle, the more RecycleBank points each household earns.

Sacramento is piloting the rewards program to help encourage proper recycling in the blue containers, decreasing contamination. Recycling contamination occurs when non-recyclable items or when unclean items are placed in the blue recycling containers. When sorted, these items are removed and taken to the landfill. The city hopes that the incentives of rewards will help the South Meadowview neighborhood to embrace the recycling program, become more conscious of what they are recycling and ensure that only recyclables are placed in the blue recycling containers for maximum RecycleBank Point earning.

"We want to lead the way in making Sacramento a greener, more sustainable city and part of that is the need to decrease our contamination of recyclables," Mayor Kevin Johnson said. "The City of Sacramento is proud of its commitment to sustainability. The Department of Utilities' blue container recycling program is an important component of this commitment and of our goal to be one the greenest city in the country. Partnering with RecycleBank is a proven way to protect our environment, help the local economy, keep our community cleaner and provide real savings to Sacramento households that recycle."

"RecycleBank is helping to create a culture that encourages people to take simple steps towards greener lifestyles," RecycleBank Vice President and General Manager Axel Newe said. "We're excited to further expand our services in California and bring valuable rewards to the families in Sacramento, while helping the City reach its environmental goals."

To receive RecycleBank Points for recycling, residents must sign up with the program and can then redeem points for valuable rewards. Residents can sign up by visiting www.RecycleBank.com or calling 1-866-563-0114. Redeeming RecycleBank Points is just like shopping online with more than 20 categories to choose from, including Food and Grocery, Sports and Recreation, Entertainment, Restaurants, Health and Beauty, and more. Residents can also choose from a host of local and national partners, including Nature Made, Coca-Cola, CVS/pharmacy, Scott Naturals, Huggies, Purex Natural Elements, McDonald's, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Dick's Sporting Goods among many others.

"By participating, residents have the ability to earn and redeem RecycleBank points for hundreds of dollars worth of rewards, discounts and merchandise," Mayor Johnson added. "With the tough economy, these savings translate into real value for our residents. Plus, it's nice to be rewarded for recycling the right way."

RecycleBank currently services more than one million people across 26 states and in the United Kingdom. Since 2005, more than 300 participating communities have recycled over 284,291 tons of material, helping to save close to 35 million gallons oil, 4.2 million trees, and a reduction of 866,811 metric tonnes in carbon emissions.

ABOUT THE CITY OF SACRAMENTO DEPARTMENT OF UTILITIES

The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities provides high quality, environmentally friendly water, sewer, drainage and solid waste services to the residents and businesses of Sacramento. The Department is proud to offer education and incentives for residents and businesses to reduce, reuse and recycle and to conserve and preserve natural resources. For more information about the Department of Utilities, please visit www.cityofsacramento.org/utilities.

ABOUT RECYCLEBANK

RecycleBank® motivates people to recycle and rewards consumers for taking greener actions with points that can be redeemed from participating local and national business partners. Through collaboration and innovation, RecycleBank is helping to create a culture that encourages people to take simple steps towards greener lifestyles. For more information, visit www.RecycleBank.com.

SOURCE RecycleBank