Bluffton could win $100,000 grant and earn points for living a more sustainable lifestyle

Posted by Jared Jester

on Aug 8, 2012

Russ Hightower, Public Affairs Manager for Waste Management, spoke to members of The Rotary Club of Bluffton on Wednesday. He explained Bluffton’s participation in the National SC Johnson Green Choices Recycling Challenge. Waste Management is partnering with SC Johnson in sponsoring the Recycling Challenge, which will award a $100,000 grant to the community with the highest reported recycling participation.

SC Johnson is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air care, pest control and shoe care. It markets such well-known brands as Glade, Pledge, Windex and Ziploc. Hightower explained the $100,000 grant award could be used toward a local sustainability project, and he added that more than 50 American communities are participating in the challenge.

“Some people are always going to recycle, even if they have to go out of their way to do it,” Hightower told the Bluffton Rotarians. “There’s a second group of people who are going to recycle only if it’s convenient. But there’s a third group who might choose to recycle if there were some incentives involved, and those are the people we’re targeting with this promotion.”

The focal point for the recycling challenge is a third company, Recyclebank, which has launched in Bluffton in collaboration with Waste Management. Hightower said Recyclebank is similar to a frequent flyer program, but instead of earning credits for miles flown, residents earn points for recycling household waste and for living a more sustainable lifestyle. Members can then use those points to “shop” at Recyclebank.com for rewards that include deals on household grocery items and discounts at participating national retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond and Olive Garden.

Hightower said that Americans recycle only one-and-a-half pounds of the more than four pounds of waste they generate each day, which adds unnecessary waste to our nation’s landfills.

To participate in the challenge and help Bluffton win it, residents need to sign up for a free Recyclebank account and report their recycling activity each week to earn points. There’s even a Recyclebank smartphone app that residents can use to report their recycling, check their Recyclebank Points balance and search for rewards. To sign up, visitwww.recyclebank.com/greenchoices.

For more information on recycling in Bluffton, visit www.townofbluffton.sc.gov or call 843-706-4500. For information on recycling in Sun City Hilton Head, visit www.schhnews.com.

Waste Management is North America’s leading provider of comprehensive waste management services, including waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling. It has residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers throughout North America.