The city of Phoenix has partnered with a company called Recyclebank to give residents more incentives to recycle.
Residents download the app or sign up online, then start collecting points by reading and watching videos about waste programs in Phoenix.
Yvette Roeder with the Phoenix Public Works Department explained that each article or video teaches the reader, "Like how to recycle right, should you or should you not keep the cap on a plastic bottle, for example. So you accumulate points," Roeder said. "And then these points are redeemable for discounts at several local and national stores. For example, you can get discounts at AMC Theatres."
The app cannot make a user recycle, nor make sure the user is recycling. But, the city’s contract with Recyclebank is tied to performance.
Roeder said they’ll test if it’s working by measuring the number of tons recycled now, versus a year from now.
And if you’re wondering if you should keep that cap on your water bottle when you recycle here in Phoenix?
The answer is: yes. That plastic bottle and cap is actually recycled as one unit.