Maidenhead & Windsor

Recycling will soon be saving money for even more Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough residents as the council's pioneering rewards pilot scheme is extended to include mixed recycling.

From next Monday (17 August) new Windsor and Maidenhead blue wheelie bins will be delivered to a pilot sample of 3,800 households across Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead. Starting on Monday 7 September residents in the pilot scheme will be asked to use the blue bin for all their recycling - cans, glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles and paper - and start earning rewards!

Working with waste contractor Veolia Environmental Services and RecycleBank, the Windsor and Maidenhead council is the first in the country to introduce the groundbreaking rewards scheme. Based on the concept of 'the more you recycle, the more you earn', it means residents can get RecycleBank reward Points for the amount they recycle and divert from landfill. The Points can then be used to buy goods and services from around 60 participating local and national shops and businesses or they can be donated to charity.

The Windsor and Maidenhead equipment needed to run the scheme has been tested since June using the subscribed green waste collection service and now the council is ready to launch phase 2, giving even more residents the opportunity to benefit.

Cllr Liam Maxwell, lead member for sustainability, said: "With the majority of green waste subscribers activating their RecycleBank accounts, we can see how popular the scheme is already and its potential for the future. The council is committed to rewarding people for their recycling, not imposing penalties, and we are delighted to be working with our partners to give even more residents the opportunity to benefit.

"By giving rewards we are encouraging more people to recycle and therefore reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill. The vouchers also support our local economy by promoting borough shops and businesses."

Matthew Tucker, President of RecycleBank, is delighted with the results. "We are thrilled to be entering phase 2 of the trials with mixed recycling. Phase 1 clearly showed us that UK residents are ready and eager to be rewarded for their recycling efforts. We are excited by the prospect of rewards based recycling gaining momentum and achieving mass participation across the country."

The new blue bins come equipped with special tags that are scanned by equipment in the Veolia Environmental Services collection vehicle. No personal identification is held - the scanner identifies the address, allocates a unique user number which is used by households to access, monitor and claim their reward Points.

Paul Levett, deputy chief executive of Veolia Environmental Services, said: "At Veolia Environmental Services our aim is to provide local authorities and businesses with the most innovative methods and technologies for sustainable living. This scheme is one of the ways we're working with our local authority partners to encourage environmental best practice."

Full details about the mixed recycling rewards pilot will be announced at the beginning of September.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead