RecycleBank whats and wherefores

You’ve heard it was coming. Now it’s here. State and local officials were out in force Saturday at Nugget Market to kick off RecycleBank, the innovative program that lets El Dorado Hills families turn their recycling into points redeemable at local stores and restaurants.

RecycleBank is a joint effort between the El Dorado Hills Community Services District, El Dorado Disposal, who holds the trash collection franchise in El Dorado Hills, and local businesses who can improve their foot traffic while encouraging residents to recycle.

How it works
Your curbside recycling practices don’t change. Continue to dump all your old newspapers, magazines, junk mail, plastic jugs, cardboard, scrap steel or bimetal cans, even phone books into your curbside cart.

El Dorado Disposal’s trucks will weigh and credit your RecycleBank Account automatically.

The program is the largest of its kind on the West Coast to date. That’s because El Dorado Hills customers were automatically enrolled in RecycleBank. That gave El Dorado Disposal the critical mass necessary to justify retrofitting the trucks, and allowed them to keep the price way down.

You should see an additional $1.49 per month, $1 for seniors — that’s $2.98 / $2 for the two month billing cycle — on your next El Dorado Disposal bill.

If you’d like out of the program or have a question send e-mail to info@ElDoradoDisposal.com or call (916) 985-1162.

Even though you were pre-enrolled, to redeem your points you still need to register with RecycleBank, a third party company that manages the benefits side of the program.

Just go to www.recyclebank.com and click the blue “Register Now” button on the left side of the home page. No computer? No problem. Call (888) 727-2978 to register.

Either way you’ll earn 300 points just for registering. That’s enough for $10 off at both Nugget and Sienna, with another $5 off at Mama Ann’s and Strings, before you’ve recycled a single can.

Redeeming points
Your points should pile up quickly. A typical El Dorado Hills family should earn roughly $200 in RecycleBank points in a year, according to El Dorado Disposal officials. There are lots of ways to use them. Most require a minimum purchase. Local participating businesses currently include:

The RecycleBank website also let’s you pick coupons for national chains including McDonald’s, Olive Garden and Ruby Tuesday, as well as hundreds of household items, many of which are available locally at Target.

All redemptions require a coupon. Some coupons have to be mailed from RecycleBank headquarters, but most can be printed at home.

Points can also be redeemed for gift cards at national online retailers and chains including Gap, Home Depot, Best Buy, Walmart, iTunes and Panera Bread. The gift cards have no minimum purchase, but burn more points than coupons.

RecycleBank service representatives are available at (888) 727-2978 to help anyone without a computer through the coupon or gift card selection process. They simply ask that you note the stores and restaurants you like and be prepared to start shopping when you call.

mroberts@villagelife.com

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Posted by Mike Roberts on Feb 28 2011.
Last Login: Mon May 13 22:25:36 2013
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