Redditch town hall: the rewards scheme will be trialled in the borough from October
Worcestershire county council is partnering with recycling reward scheme, Greenredeem, to pilot a new scheme in Redditch district aimed at reducing waste and cutting costs.
The trial, which will run from October 1st 2017 for 12 months, is intended to encourage the Worcestershire district’s residents to cut down on the amount of waste they throw away and to recycle more.
Residents will be awarded five points for every kilo of residual waste a community reduces.
Redditch borough council, which provides in-house waste and recycling collections in the district, will measure the weight of waste collections using historical averages and comparing these to the weighbridge tickets of specific routes and rounds on a day-to-day basis.
Similarly, households will also earn points for increasing their recycling and by participating in a series of specific campaigns. For example, households that “present their recycling correctly; clean and loose in their recycling bin and not in plastic bags” could be awarded points.
‘Greenredeem points’ can be swapped for vouchers to redeem in shops or leisure facilities, or can be donated to local charities and community projects, with the projects with the most points receiving a share in £1,000 at the end of the campaign.
Cost savings
Emma Stuart, waste prevention project manager at Worcestershire, explained: “Waste prevention is a priority for Worcestershire county council. We are getting more houses being built and with that comes an increasing amount of waste.
Households will be able to earn points for cutting down on waste and recycling more
“Ultimately, we are saving the council money and with council budgets being cut, this gives the council the opportunity to make some cost savings.”
She added: “Our main aim of this campaign is to reduce the amount of residual waste we have to dispose of by encouraging people to consider home composting, reusable nappies, reducing their food waste and reusing items. We are also looking to cut the amount of contamination in the recycling bins, particularly plastic bags.”
Different focus
The pilot is a first for Greenredeem, which usually runs schemes focused on encouraging recycling first and reducing waste, second.
“It’s interesting to see a different approach,” said Rob Crumbie, director of marketing & communications at Greenredeem.
“The Greenredeem scheme has proven in many local authority areas that we’re able to increase recycling and get residents wasting less, and we’re looking forward to working with the residents of Redditch to help the council achieve its goals.”
“It’s a new innovative programme and we hope that residents sign up and use the opportunity to look at what they throw away. If it works we hope to roll the programme out across all Worcestershire districts.”
Cllr Debbie Chance, portfolio holder for environmental services at Redditch borough council, said: “We are delighted that Redditch has been chosen to trial this incentive.
“The whole community will benefit from the campaign; residents can earn themselves an array of vouchers – with something to suit everyone’s tastes – creating more trade for local businesses. Local charities and community projects will benefit from additional funding and not forgetting that the whole project will help the environment too. It’s win-win all round!”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
