Page 52 - Plastics News December 2016

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As cities shift strategies, so does Recyclebank

Recycle bank is an educational platform focused on helping cities connect with their residents on the subject
of sustainability and recycling.

The City of Fort Worth, Texas is changing its relationship think Fort Worth is very representative of many cities we
with outreach organization Recycle bank as it works to work with today, where they have a program that's been
increase recycling among the very healthy, very successful over the past many years,"
multi-family and commercial he told Resource Recycling. Winn said Fort Worth staff
sectors. Recycle bank is an are going through a 20-year solid waste management
educational platform focused plan and need a solution on how to increase multi-family
on helping cities connect with and commercial recycling. Material from those sectors
their residents on the subject accounts for 57 percent of the City's waste stream.
of sustainability and recycling. Recyclebank operates in more than 300 communities.
Recycle bank does that by
rewarding residents for their recycling efforts with points, "What we've worked really hard to do over the last several
which can be redeemed at local businesses or online. years is focus on localizing our platform in those different
Starting January. 1, Fort Worth residents can still earn communities," Winn said. "So I think you'll start to see a
points, but it will be a reward for completing online lot more shifting of strategies. We'll still be working, but
activities, including quizzes, instead of their actions at we'll be deploying different parts of what we do."
the curb. According to the Star-Telegram, only 38,000
households out of 215,000 eligible households have
signed up for the program since it started in Fort Worth
in 2012. Even fewer actually earn points. The City will
use $300,000 in yearly savings to encourage recycling
among businesses and residents of multifamily housing.

The executive vice president and general manager of
Recyclebank, Paul Winn, said the group will continue
to work with Fort Worth on outreach and educational
programs. He understands every city is different and the
same recycling message isn't applicable everywhere. "I

Australian firm puts a wrap on storm damage

An Australian-invented plastic film that protects storm-damaged buildings and is soon to make its way to

the U.S. market

Aformer insurance repair contractor, Lennox came up damage as the initial storm,” he said. “I knew there had
with the idea to shrink wrap damaged buildings after to be a better, more efficient and cost-effective way.”

trying to protect hundreds of homes and commercial Lennox began investigating suitable resins and, with the
buildings during a series of damaging hailstorms in Sydney help of a polymer expert, eventually settled on a method
in 2007. He was unable to keep up with demand, running similar to how food manufacturers wrap and seal products.
out of tarps and having to revisit many sites after wind
dislodged the tarpaulins or rain seeped through. Today he holds patents for Stormseal and the heat-shrink
installation method, and manufactures the resin rolls and
“It was running up costs and sometimes causing as much heat guns in Rockdale. He no longer installs the protective

• December 2016 • Plastics News 52