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Trick My Truck Just Rewards Philadelphia Recycling Rewards launches in Strawberry Mansion
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ecycleBank, a company founded in Philadelphia in 2005, has finally launched its innovative recycling rewards program in the City of Brotherly Love. Mayor Nutter and other city leaders celebrated the event with a press conference and demonstration in Strawberry Mansion. RecycleBank partners with municipalities to reward citizens for recycling—the more you recycle, the more points you accrue to redeem for rewards at over 1,500 local and national businesses. You can also donate rewards to nonprofits and charities. All participants need is a sticker for their recycling bin. That sticker contains a microchip that identifies their home. When collected, the bin is weighed and the appropriate amount of points are deposited in the owner’s account. As Mayor Nutter put it, “Philadelphia Recycling Rewards is an opportunity to put real money in the hands of Philadelphians at a time when people really do need it.” This initiative is the latest in a series of strides (including BigBelly trash receptacles and single-stream recycling) that the city has made towards decreasing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. The program is being rolled out one neighborhood at a time. District 3, which includes Fairmount, Northern Liberties, Fishtown, Port Richmond and parts of North Philadelphia, launches in February. Visit phillyrecyclingpays.com to register or learn the launch date for your area. —lee stabert
The city’s Mural Arts Program brings a colorful flourish to recycling by Lee Stabert
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ne of the most striking things about the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards Program launch was the trucks. Wrapped in vibrant, colorful patterns, the hulking behemoths were belle of the ball. That’s all thanks to a partnership between the Streets Commission, under the guidance of Clarena Tolson, and Philadelphia’s Mural Arts program. A few years ago, Mural Arts was asked to commission murals for two trucks as a beautification measure. The trucks won a national award. Then, this year, as the city was gearing up to launch single-stream recycling, they wanted to raise awareness. They came to Mural Arts and asked them to do a whole fleet. “We wanted to make something bland beautiful,” says Director of Art Education Jane Hellman. The program was dubbed “Design in Motion.” Everything at Mural Arts has a community element, so they enlisted the help of middle school kids in their after-school program. Through a partnership with Philadelphia University’s Design Center, the kids were able to learn about turn-of-the-century, locally-made textiles, and use those as inspiration for
the trucks’ design. The kids also learned about the recycling process. On Earth Day, the city celebrated the new trucks with a parade down Broad Street and a dedication by Mayor Nutter at Love Park. Future plans include 12 more trucks, done in collaboration with drivers, kids from the Mural Arts Program and local communities with low recycling rates. A little while back, Hellman saw one of the eyecatching trucks cruising through her neighborhood. She struck up a conversation with the driver, telling him she worked for Mural Arts, then asked him what he thought of his new ride. “People talk to me now, like they didn’t before,” he responded. “They ask me about recycling.” ■
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