A new recycling scheme in Berkshire is being piloted to show that incentives rather than penalties are the best way to encourage recycling.
In the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, 6,500 households have had their bins weighed and be allocated points based on the amount of rubbish being recycled. The scheme, which began last June, has proven successful and will now be rolled out across Berkshire in its entirety.
Residents in the borough for the last year have been rewarded points that could be redeemed for goods or services. Wheelie bins were collected, weighed, and points were then dolled out based on the amount of waste recycled per household. The initiative is structured by using electronic tags fitted to each bin, which track a record of weight that is then stored in collection vehicles.
Now, with expansions planned for the entire borough, including Ascot, about 5,000 more of the electronic blue bins will be delivered to householders across the county. Councillor Liam Maxwell said that the overall popularity of a rewards-based scheme proved that local residents are keen to earn discounts and deals for their recycling. He added that it just proves the ongoing argument that incentives are better than punishment.
According to the council, participating households since Last June have increased recycling efforts by 35 per cent. During the pilot period, 70 per cent of eligible households took advantage of their rewards accounts earning a total of five million points. A max number of rewards points has been put into effect to prevent any abuses of the system.
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