Saturday
14Nov2009
RecycleBank Is Broken
Sat, November 14, 2009 at 19:54
Originally posted Tue, April 14, 2009 at 20:30 now updated because Recyclebank executives openly deny my concerns to be true despite my having evidence to the contrary.
Or, Who Do They Think They're Fooling?
RecycleBank announced a partnership with MillerCoors Beer today. I wonder if the folks at MillerCoors realize the mistake they just made? And do they care?
A few months ago while working as the general manager of a local recycling center RecycleBill got a call from a nearby university inquiring about setting up a campus wide recycling program. Recognizing this as an urgent call to action, RecycleBill went straight to work.
While searching the Internet in hopes of finding equipment to make the job easier I came across a kiosk operated by a company called, RecycleBank. Thinking this just might be the super tool a green superhero might use to recycle a university campus I used my super powers, aka the telephone, to call the folks at RecycleBank and inquire about the possibility of buying some of their kiosks.
Now before I tell the rest of my story I'd like to say that I'd be willing to bet that the founders of RecycleBank began their venture with the best intentions before ever learning of RecycleBank's biggest flaw. That said, because RecycleBank continues to sell a flawed system to investors, advertisers and taxpayers, I feel I have to do my green duty and expose them.
I called RecycleBank and spoke with them as to the possibility that my company might buy one or more of their kiosks. The nice gentleman told me he would love to sell them to me but it seems their kiosks simply don't work. You see, with all their high tech engineering and planning the folks at RecycleBank left out one very important factor-- the human factor.
Most humans start out good enough but like the folks at RecycleBank, when push comes to shove some humans are prone to cheat, lie and steal. And with all their technology the RecycleBank system depends on a plain and simple scale to weigh the contents and determine the rewards the humans get for placing stuff in the kiosks. You see, a scale can't tell 2 pounds of aluminum cans from 2 pounds of dirty, worn out size 10 sneakers. Without a human to stand guard the kiosks can't tell the difference between 1 pound of plastic bottles and 1 pound of half-eaten cheeseburger and stale fries.
And the system RecycleBank is attempting to install on recycling trucks in cities across America works no better. Unless your city sends a human out to dump, check and refill every single recycling container ahead of the recycling truck the end result will be more trash mixed in with the recycling.
And more trash mixed in with the recycling means more recyclables get rejected and sent to landfills-- not less.
RecycleBill works in the type of recycling center that pays people for their recyclables and never a day goes by when we don't catch someone trying to pass off trash as genuine recyclables. Sadly, payment in the form of cash or coupons will encourage cheating for as long as the human factor remains in play and unless you want your city to spend millions of dollars on a flawed system I recommend you speak out against RecycleBank.
Then again, maybe I should have kept the secret to myself as I've got tons of old bricks I've been unable to sell.
Update: Top 10 Ways To Hack Recyclebank for fun and profit.
Update 2: Recyclebank caught cheating.
Update 3: From Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development:
"For this ongoing test run, RecycleBank bins are available in all freshman dorms. Students bring their recycling to a computerized kiosk, where their recycling is weighed and assigned a point value. Students then redeem their points online. I have been using the system for a few months, and it could not be any easier to operate. The whole process takes less than a minute, and the rewards website is well organized. On the operational level, RecycleBank is an unequivocal success.
This kiosk system is a first for RecycleBank, which is experimenting with the format for possible expansion into multi-unit dwellings like apartment buildings. This trial run also marks the first time RecycleBank has operated on a college campus. No data is available yet on this kiosk model’s effect on recycling, but according to Ms. Mesa, the preliminary response has been positive.
“We don’t have great data,” said Mesa. “But the people who are in it really seem to like it.”
The Columbia Spectator has already run an editorial urging an expansion of the program to upperclassmen dorms, and campus environmental groups have been eager to work with RecycleBank. Despite the enthusiasm, Mesa cautioned against expanding the program too quickly, advocating a more measured approach.
“I would rather see something well developed that makes sense rather than something that doesn’t work well,” she explained. Her prudence is warranted; an impulsive scaling up of an inefficient program would do more harm than good.
Though limited, RecycleBank already has a substantial number of participants. In an informal poll of a freshman hall, 30 to 40 percent of hall residents said they participated. Some were planning to join the soon, and others claimed to recycle without using RecycleBank.
A few students, however, admitted to abusing the program. One said he had taken free newspapers and recycled them en masse, reaping points by stealing papers. Another, who had reached the point limit for his monthly recycling, distributed his remaining recyclables to friends, who used them for points. For many, the aim is the incentive, not the positive externalities of recycling. As with any incentive-based program, the danger is that participants will completely disregard the larger purpose, instead obsessing with how they benefit personally."
My point exactly. And as of November 14, 2009, no one from Recyclebank has bothered to address these issues even though Recyclebank CEO, Ron Gonen and Recyclebank Regional Director, Mike Mazzaroni have both used the comment feature below to deny their system is flawed.
Or, Who Do They Think They're Fooling?
RecycleBank announced a partnership with MillerCoors Beer today. I wonder if the folks at MillerCoors realize the mistake they just made? And do they care?
A few months ago while working as the general manager of a local recycling center RecycleBill got a call from a nearby university inquiring about setting up a campus wide recycling program. Recognizing this as an urgent call to action, RecycleBill went straight to work.
While searching the Internet in hopes of finding equipment to make the job easier I came across a kiosk operated by a company called, RecycleBank. Thinking this just might be the super tool a green superhero might use to recycle a university campus I used my super powers, aka the telephone, to call the folks at RecycleBank and inquire about the possibility of buying some of their kiosks.
Now before I tell the rest of my story I'd like to say that I'd be willing to bet that the founders of RecycleBank began their venture with the best intentions before ever learning of RecycleBank's biggest flaw. That said, because RecycleBank continues to sell a flawed system to investors, advertisers and taxpayers, I feel I have to do my green duty and expose them.
I called RecycleBank and spoke with them as to the possibility that my company might buy one or more of their kiosks. The nice gentleman told me he would love to sell them to me but it seems their kiosks simply don't work. You see, with all their high tech engineering and planning the folks at RecycleBank left out one very important factor-- the human factor.
Most humans start out good enough but like the folks at RecycleBank, when push comes to shove some humans are prone to cheat, lie and steal. And with all their technology the RecycleBank system depends on a plain and simple scale to weigh the contents and determine the rewards the humans get for placing stuff in the kiosks. You see, a scale can't tell 2 pounds of aluminum cans from 2 pounds of dirty, worn out size 10 sneakers. Without a human to stand guard the kiosks can't tell the difference between 1 pound of plastic bottles and 1 pound of half-eaten cheeseburger and stale fries.
And the system RecycleBank is attempting to install on recycling trucks in cities across America works no better. Unless your city sends a human out to dump, check and refill every single recycling container ahead of the recycling truck the end result will be more trash mixed in with the recycling.
And more trash mixed in with the recycling means more recyclables get rejected and sent to landfills-- not less.
RecycleBill works in the type of recycling center that pays people for their recyclables and never a day goes by when we don't catch someone trying to pass off trash as genuine recyclables. Sadly, payment in the form of cash or coupons will encourage cheating for as long as the human factor remains in play and unless you want your city to spend millions of dollars on a flawed system I recommend you speak out against RecycleBank.
Then again, maybe I should have kept the secret to myself as I've got tons of old bricks I've been unable to sell.
Update: Top 10 Ways To Hack Recyclebank for fun and profit.
Update 2: Recyclebank caught cheating.
Update 3: From Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development:
"For this ongoing test run, RecycleBank bins are available in all freshman dorms. Students bring their recycling to a computerized kiosk, where their recycling is weighed and assigned a point value. Students then redeem their points online. I have been using the system for a few months, and it could not be any easier to operate. The whole process takes less than a minute, and the rewards website is well organized. On the operational level, RecycleBank is an unequivocal success.
This kiosk system is a first for RecycleBank, which is experimenting with the format for possible expansion into multi-unit dwellings like apartment buildings. This trial run also marks the first time RecycleBank has operated on a college campus. No data is available yet on this kiosk model’s effect on recycling, but according to Ms. Mesa, the preliminary response has been positive.
“We don’t have great data,” said Mesa. “But the people who are in it really seem to like it.”
The Columbia Spectator has already run an editorial urging an expansion of the program to upperclassmen dorms, and campus environmental groups have been eager to work with RecycleBank. Despite the enthusiasm, Mesa cautioned against expanding the program too quickly, advocating a more measured approach.
“I would rather see something well developed that makes sense rather than something that doesn’t work well,” she explained. Her prudence is warranted; an impulsive scaling up of an inefficient program would do more harm than good.
Though limited, RecycleBank already has a substantial number of participants. In an informal poll of a freshman hall, 30 to 40 percent of hall residents said they participated. Some were planning to join the soon, and others claimed to recycle without using RecycleBank.
A few students, however, admitted to abusing the program. One said he had taken free newspapers and recycled them en masse, reaping points by stealing papers. Another, who had reached the point limit for his monthly recycling, distributed his remaining recyclables to friends, who used them for points. For many, the aim is the incentive, not the positive externalities of recycling. As with any incentive-based program, the danger is that participants will completely disregard the larger purpose, instead obsessing with how they benefit personally."
My point exactly. And as of November 14, 2009, no one from Recyclebank has bothered to address these issues even though Recyclebank CEO, Ron Gonen and Recyclebank Regional Director, Mike Mazzaroni have both used the comment feature below to deny their system is flawed.
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Reader Comments (10)
Tons of old bricks? Are they cleaned or what? What are you trying to get for them?
Wooley,
I do have cleaned and uncleaned brick for sale but the bricks I want to get rid of are broken.
This post is nothing but nonesense. It is completley synical and does not credit "the human factor" for caring about the world. As a mother who participates in RecycleBank, I can tell you that my family does not cheat. We love the points, my entire family checks how much we are earning and the discounts on our food bill really make a difference. This post only talks about poeple who have bad intentions, it does not supply an alternative path and it makes me sad. I have never recycled more than I do not because my family is motivated by the rewards we can get - the olive garden dinner we went to last night was a lot less expensive because my family did something good for the world! What can be wrong with that???
GreenMom,
Just so you know I try to recycle everything and don't need RecycleBank to motivate me to do so.
I also earn my living working in the for profit recycling industry and catch people from all walks of life cheating EVERY SINGLE DAY! I spend almost half of every single day working to stop people from cheating and stealing from the business I help manage and still many don't get caught.
I'm happy that your family doesn't cheat. More people should be like you.
But if you think this post in nonsense then you simply don't have a good grasp on reality.
Sadly, when people become desperate cheating become second nature.
Dear Author,
I am the Co-Founder and CEO of RecycleBank. I wanted to take the time to respond to your comment above since it is completely misguided and unfounded.
RecycleBank does not offer or sell kiosks for recycling at universities. The service that you purport to have requested or called to inquire about at RecycleBank does not exist. RecycleBank provides curbside residential recycling service in cities that is proven to dramatically increase in recycling rates.
RecycleBank ran a successful pilot program at Columbia University in 2008 (Columbia University is an investor in RecycleBank) with specially designed kiosks for the freshman dorms. RecycleBank has never offered to provide or sell the kiosks to another university as it is not, and has never been, a focus of our business. We have always been and are currently focused on our rapidly growing curbside residential service which has helped cities across the country dramatically increase recycling rates.
There are no sales people employed at RecycleBank that sell the kiosks you refer to in your post nor will find the service you describe in your post offered anywhere in RecycleBank’s material. I would appreciate it if you would provide a correction to your readers since your post purports to RecycleBank selling a product that has never been and is currently not for sale by RecycleBank.
RecycleBank today services over a million people in 20 states. We service lower incomes neighborhoods and upper income neighborhoods. We service suburban neighborhoods and urban neighborhoods. We have never had a scenario like the one you describe in your post. Perhaps people are more interested in making sure that they recycle, helping their City avoid hefty landfill disposal fees, and earning RecycleBank Points then with coming up with a way to try to cheat the system. RecycleBank is demonstrating that individuals, communities and the businesses that serve them can join together to support each other.
Recycling rates have been stagnant for over a decade. RecycleBank is demonstrating the ability to dramatically increase recycling rates. We hope that you will join us; or at least provide constructive suggestions or opportunities to continue to increase recycling.
Thank you.
Ron Gonen
Co-Founder & CEO of RecycleBank
Ron,
You have yet to address the concerns I posted. I called recyclebank's offices asking to buy a kiosk and was told by your employee that the kiosk was flawed and unable to differentiate recyclables from garbage. Is that true? Can your kiosk or the system you install on trucks differentiate between recyclables and garbage-- yes or no?
My family and I use RecycleBank and LOVE it! Its single-stream recycling makes it so easy to use and gives us the ability to recycle far more than we ever did in the past. The rewards are just an added bonus for us. And to answer your question, we would have no way to cheat the system because a LIVE HUMAN has to hook the can up to the truck and sees what is in the can. RecycleBank clearly states that anyone caught cheating the system will be banned from the program. Why are you such a negative naysayer?
I seriously doubt the truck driver has the time to inspect the contents of each and every container he or she dumps.
And just for your info: I'm someone who actually WORKS in the recycling business and KNOWS from experience how people cheat the system.
I've always found it interesting how commenters like BN like to toss about words like "naysayers" when they have no real world experience and can provide NO proof that what I'm saying is not true. And to think people aren't cheating the system is proof BN has no real world experience in the recycling industry.
Prove me wrong. Show me the numbers that prove that people aren't cheating.
Although Ron certainly crafted a more eloquent letter this past August, I'd like to add my $.02.
Clearly you have an agenda that is opposed to the success of a program such as RecycleBank and are looking for any flaw in a program that is focused on trying to improve and refresh curbside residential recycling programs everywhere. I am a RecycleBank employee and have been working with many communities throughout the Northeast to evaluate and understand how our program can be used to motivate households to increase the amount they recycle and increase the number participating households. Our technology allows us to record and reward recycling behavior in dozens of communities across the US and the UK. As such, we are very much a data driven company and every day we collect more data from the hundreds of thousands of participating households. Our experience (and the resulting data) has demonstrated very clearly to us and our PARTNER communities, the specific and positive results our program has on diversion savings, local economic rewards and household participation.
As for how our "flawed system" deals with human behavior??? The old "bowling ball question"....
It's quite simple really - all of the trucks participating in our program have a "contamination button" - think of the Staple's BIG RED EASY button...if an operator (driver or helper) notices any "cheating" or accidental contamination, the button is pressed. That little activity timestamps (remember the RFID tag?) and records that a cart belonging to a specific address was dumped and the load "contaminated". Working in conjunction with the PARTNER COMMUNITY (notice a theme here?), we jointly message (email or letter) the resident, informing them of the time and date that their cart (matched to their address) contained contaminated recycling material.
We take this opportunity to not only notify them, but to EDUCATE them the correct material that is to be recycled as well as the benefits of participating in our program. Notice, we don't assume EVERY contaminated cart was purposely contaminated that sometimes its about educating residents about what they can recycle. We will also work with the host community to create a specific message around contamination ---- hmmm 2 strikes and your out perhaps?...To date, in over 4 years and in servicing over a million people we've not had to kick ANYONE out of the program. Perhaps our system isn't nearly as flawed as you profess or like to believe??
So, do helpers inspect whats dumped into the back of their truck? Do they have time to? Of course they do, they have to..whether the weight of commodity material is used for RecycleBank's incentive program or not, workers have been doing this out of necessity for years. Proof? Our MRF partners (businesses who have the most to gain/lose with contaminated recyclables) LOVE working with us! RecycleBank helps to increase the amount of material they process all while meeting their stringent single stream residue guidelines.
Maybe BN doesn't "work" in the recycling industry because they don't receive a paycheck from some company, but they are clearly PART of the recycling industry - aren't they? They are the "source" in "source separating"?...Irrespective, Ron and I both work in the recycling industry and we have experienced that our program works. RecycleBank has built in and accounted for the human element and will continue to do so. Perhaps what we haven't done, is build in and accounted for the human element who are negatively impacted (uh - you perhaps?) by the increased curbside residential recycling rates our program helps stimulate....
Mike Mazzaroni
Regional Director
RecycleBank
PS...I can also vouch that as a salesperson engaged in speaking with communities and residents throughout the northeast - we have never tried to or offered to sell a kiosk...
Mike and Ron,
For starters, I never made the claim that your company sells kiosks but I did call your company and attempt to buy one of your kiosks and was told by your employee that contamination was a big concern as the kiosks can't tell one item from another.
And if you not having contamination problems with your one and only kiosk then why don't you have two? Why is Recyclebank and the university where your kiosk is installed both keeping quiet about what you touted as a success?
As for my agenda: All ever wanted was the truth but you and Ron simply dance around the truth. Your system has a couple of flaws but rather than admit a few flaws you deny any possibility that flaws might exist.
Proof? Show us the numbers. Show us the amount of contamination and prove it to be acceptable. I'm in the recycling business and we deal with contamination everyday-- it's a fact of life. But if we don't actively supervise then the amount of contamination becomes unacceptable.
As for Recyclebank being in the recycling business-- Recyclebank DOESN'T RECYCLE ANYTHING. You don't buy recyclables, you don't sell recyclables and Recyclebank doesn't collect recyclables. Recyclebank's customers do all those things but Recyclebank does none of those things. Your only business is marketing a flawed system and the fact that you and Ron are even concerned with my opinion only leads me to believe there are facts you don't want made public. You know, like fingers on the scale.