Recycling rewards
Docklanders are being encouraged to recycle through a new initiative being supported by the City of Melbourne.
Council has partnered with recycling rewards program GreenMoney to launch a 12-month trial that allows residents to earn discounts and offers by recycling.
The first of its kind in Victoria, the trial will be available to 15,000 households across Docklands and Southbank.
According to council’s environment portfolio chair Cr Arron Wood, the trial is a creative way to educate and encourage people to recycle more.
“The City of Melbourne is recognised as a global leader in sustainability and one of the reasons for this is our willingness to try innovative new solutions,” Cr Wood said.
“One of the biggest challenges we face as a capital city council is the amount of landfill we produce, so we are always looking at new ways to reduce it and improve recycling.”
Exo residents and Docklands business owners John Bradshaw and Mark Scholem are already keen recyclers and say the Green Money program is a great idea.
“It’s a great way to incentivise people who might not be in the habit of regularly recycling,” Mr Bradshaw said.
And given Docklands’ collection of sustainable buildings it seems Docklands is the perfect fit for a recycling scheme.
“For people living in an urban environment it’s particularly important to be able to contribute to the sustainability of the broader environment,” Mr Scholem said.
The GreenMoney program works by allocating points to participating households at a rate of 50 points per kilogram of recycling collected.
Current data shows local households collect around 2 kilograms of recycling per week, equating to potential earnings of 100 points.
Points are distributed to each registered household based on the weight of recyclables collected from their building or nominated area.
The points can then be redeemed at a variety of participating retailers including restaurants, cinemas and attractions, with 100 points equating to around $10 worth of savings.
“As well as promoting environmental responsibility, GreenMoney will support participating Southbank and Docklands businesses by encouraging residents to spend their points locally,” Cr Wood said.
GreenMoney communications director Suzzana Kukulovski said the company was excited about expanding to Victorian households during National Recycling Week.
According to Ms Kukulovski, in Randwick, Sydney the program has successfully delivered a 10.4 per cent increase in recycling.
See http://www.greenmoney.com.au for more information and to register.
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