Recyling pays for Philadelphia residents
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
By: Elizabeth Fiedler
efiedler@whyy.org
Philadelphians who'd like to save some money, will soon be able to just by putting out a stack of old newspapers. On Thursday, city officials gathered at the Strawberry Mansion Neighborhood Action Center to announce the launch of the city's incentive-based Recycling Rewards program.
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Residents will continue to put out recycling in the same containers, on the same day of the week. But once the incentive based program starts, just by slapping a sticker on the container, recyclers can rack up "points" to redeem at local and national merchants including restaurants and grocery stores.
Streets Department Deputy Commissioner Carlton Williams says residents will benefit and so will the city.
William: We save $64.45 a ton when people recycle. And so we spend $38 million a year on landfill costs and we hope to obtain a portion of that so we can put it back into the city's coffers.
Williams says the recycling rewards program will start in North Philadelphia in February… and will be citywide by the summer of 2010. Residents could earn as much as $240 a year in incentives.