Michigan City Sees Success with RecycleBank Program

Written by Recycling Today Magazine Published: September 01, 2009

The city of Westland, Mich., reports that after adopting a new curbside recycling program that incorporates RecycleBank, the city has sent 1,184 fewer tons of material to landfills in just two months.

Westland Mayor William Wild notes that that translates into about 2.4 million pounds of material diverted.

The city debuted RecycleBank on June 28, after more than 25,000 single-family households received new recycling carts.

Before the program’s debut, Westland averaged about 90 tons a month at drop off recycling locations. The new cart and the rewards-for-recycling program have dramatically changed that figure.

Another key to the success of the program is single-stream recycling. "With single-stream recycling, families can put all of their recyclables into one recycling container without having to sort paper, plastic, tin, and glass separately," said Kevin Buford, director of the city’s Public Services. "The more households that recycle, the more they are rewarded for their efforts. Single-stream recycling with RecycleBank has helped Westland to become a better steward of the environment while stimulating the local economy and putting a little money back in the pockets of our residents."

RecycleBank services more than one million people across 20 states.


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