Monday, December 15, 2008

Recycling Pays Off



Our trash company, Waste Connections, has partnered with Recycle Bank to offer a rewards program for those that choose to recycle. I am SO EXCITED! I have been an avid recycler for years. We have a sorting station in the garage and every so often, we take a few hours and go drop stuff off at the various places. Not anymore ~ we're going curb side baby! (Even though we participate in the current program, WC doesn't pick up everything ~ but they will starting in Jan.)

The biggest plus to this program is: NO MORE SORTING! Woo HOO!! Just dump it all together and away it goes to the MRF. (We also will get a rebate (based on pounds of materials) to spend at various places online, including some green stores.)

Our new bin hasn't arrived yet, so in the mean time, we are using our old laundry hampers and just dumping everything in them. We now have a trash can, compost bucket and the recycling bin in our kitchen. LOL Our recycle bin fills up daily while the trash bin takes three days to fill, so there's progress.

J is trying to find out if we can get more than 1 bin ~ they pick up every other week and 1 bin just won't be enough.

Although, now that I see the materials on a daily basis, I may want to rethink what we are recycling. It appears that we have lots of newspapers ( I still read the daily paper) as well as magazines and junk mail. Maybe we should try to stop it from coming into the house, so we don't have to recycle it. Food for thought anyway.

Last I heard, there are only 3,000 households going to participate. Come on Wichita, this is a no-brainer. I have non-recyling friends who are now on the band wagon. Once they see how easy it is and that they'll get a cash reward (avg family earns $20 a month) they are excited.

Now, off to convert my office to this program and maybe even the kid's schools....

6 comments:

Karen C said...

Huh. We have Waste Connections, but this is the first I'd heard of this (a quick search turns up an article in the paper a couple of weeks ago, which apparently I missed).

So I imagine as people start to become aware of it, it'll catch on more. I don't even care if there are rewards for it (and with the bottom dropping out of the recycling market, those may not last), I would just love to not have to accumulate all the stuff, remember the right day to go, and then wait in line at ProKS/Miller.

Leasmom said...

I just started recycling this year and I wish I could use a container like yours someone keeps stealing ours...they stole our various bins, our crates etc. So now we're down to using the city's bin only and so I'm trying to reduce what we need to recycle by making it ourselves because that bin isn't big enough for all the stuff we usually have.

The Three Little Bears said...

In our area, there has been talk of that and I really wish they would bring it to light! Right now, my husband and keep everything in trash cans and about once a month take it all to the dump (we are avid recyclers).

The Scavenger said...

That is the GREATEST thing I have ever heard of. I wish we could get something like that here. We go about once a month take ours off to recycle. And now you won't even have to sort it, I love it. Hey, they can have the money if they will just come and get this stuff, ya know. Thanks a bunch for the info, gonna ask my people if they can get something like that going here in KY.

Chris

Phelan said...

I am just getting ready to cancel my trash service. They charge you an extra $1.50 per mile when you live out in the boonies. If we can't reuse something, we toss it in the recycle bin at the closest towns grocery.

I thought you had a story about a roo to share?

Rhonda said...

We have Waste Connections also and I had not heard of this. I'll have to call them for more info (we are right outside Wichita)in our area. Thanks for the excellent info!