RecycleBank to expand household recycling rewards scheme

RecycleBank has secured an additional $30m in venture funding as the Philadelphia based firm looks to expand its innovative recycling rewards model into new territories.

According to reports at Venturebeat, the latest round of financing was led by Silicon Valley venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. It follows a $13.1m funding round secured last year from RRE Ventures and Sigma Partners, which both stumped up cash in the latest round as well.

RecycleBank's business model is based on partnerships with local waste disposal companies that allow it to install electronic tagging technologies capable of tracking consumers' recycling habits.

Households signing up to the scheme can then earn credits based on the amount of materials they recycle. They can then use the credits to qualify for discounts with RecycleBank's retail partners, which include Whole Foods and strategic investor Coke.

According to Venturebeat, the incentive scheme has increased recycling rates in some communities by up to 40 per cent. The company said that having trialled the scheme on a relatively small scale in communities in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania it will now use the fresh funding to take the service to larger municipalities.