Recycling Efforts Heat Up as National Recycling Challenge Reaches Midway Point
Fifty Communities Across the U.S. Recycle for Chance to Win $100,000 Grant from SC Johnson
RACINE, Wis., October 9, 2012 /3BL Media/ - October marks the midway point for the SC Johnson Green Choices Recycling Challenge, a six-month program encouraging residents in 50 communities, one in each state, to compete for the highest reported recycling participation. After three months, Lakes at Red Rock, Va., leads the Challenge with Huntington Woods, Mich., and Horace, N.D., trailing not far behind. Helping to motivate these communities to go green is the chance to win a $100,000 sustainability grant from SC Johnson. The winner will be announced in January 2013.
“As a company, we are constantly working to operate more sustainably as well as find ways to encourage individuals to take greener, everyday actions,” said Kelly M. Semrau, Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs, Communication & Sustainability at SC Johnson. “The excitement surrounding the SC Johnson Green Choices Recycling Challenge has been inspirational and we hope this, along with our Sustainable Behavior Change Program, will help us to better understand what motivates people to change their actions to help preserve and protect the environment.”
The Challenge, developed by SC Johnson and Recyclebank®, the company that rewards people for taking everyday green actions with discounts and deals, aims to inspire waste reduction and increase recycling efforts. With three months remaining, participating communities are currently ranked:
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While the Challenge strives to increase consumers’ recycling, it will also contribute to the goal of SC Johnson to become landfill neutral by 2016. Through operational commitments as well as with the help of Recyclebank and communities[1] across the country the company expects to eliminate or divert more than 480 million pounds of waste from the nation’s landfills, which is equivalent to more than its U.S. waste footprint. The company defines its waste footprint as all its U.S. manufacturing, office and consumer packaging waste and shipping materials.
“Through the SC Johnson Green Choices Recycling Challenge, we have been able to reach an even wider audience to motivate more sustainable choices,” said Jonathan Hsu, Chief Executive Officer at Recyclebank. “We’ve seen record levels of community participation as a result of this effort and are thrilled to see how the participating communities continue to step up to the Challenge.”
The 50 communities involved in the SC Johnson Green Choices Challenge join more than 300 communities across the U.S. and the U.K. that have implemented Recyclebank programs to help increase recycling rates through incentives and reward residents with deals on everyday household and grocery items, including deals on a suite of SC Johnson brands such as Ziploc®, Windex®, Scrubbing Bubbles® and Glade®. In addition to significant environmental benefits, increased recycling also has a positive impact on municipal finances through disposal cost savings and revenues from the sale of recyclables.
A leaderboard at www.recyclebank.com/greenchoices tracks the progress each month and can be viewed by logging into the site. To learn more about the sustainability efforts of SC Johnson, visit www.scjohnson.com/greenchoices, follow them on Twitter @SCJGreenChoices or access its 2011 Public report at www.scjohnson.com/2011Report
ABOUT SC JOHNSON
SC Johnson is a family-owned and managed business dedicated to innovative, high-quality products, excellence in the workplace and a long-term commitment to the environment and the communities in which it operates. Based in the USA, the company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air care, pest control and shoe care. It markets such well-known brands as GLADE®, KIWI®, OFF!®, PLEDGE®, RAID®, SCRUBBING BUBBLES®, SHOUT®, WINDEX® and ZIPLOC® in the U.S. and beyond, with brands marketed outside the U.S. including AUTAN®, TANA®, BAMA®, BAYGON®, BRISE®, KABIKILLER®, KLEAR®, MR. MUSCLE®, and RIDSECT®. The 126-year-old company, that generates $9 billion in sales, employs nearly 13,000 people globally and sells products in virtually every country around the world. www.scjohnson.com
ABOUT RECYCLEBANK
Recyclebank helps create a more sustainable future by rewarding people for taking everyday green actions with discounts and deals from more than 4,000 local businesses and national brands. Through its online platform and partnerships with municipalities, haulers, small businesses and corporate brands, Recyclebank empowers individuals to make a collective impact on the environment by increasing household recycling and taking other environmentally-friendly actions. A Certified B Corporation, Recyclebank has been recognized as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, a Champion of the Earth by the United Nations Environment Programme and for Outstanding Excellence in Public/Private Partnerships from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Recyclebank is headquartered in New York City. For more information, visit www.Recyclebank.com
1 The Recyclebank® partnership looks at waste reduction holistically and will look to recycle both SC Johnson brands and other consumer goods products to help reach the company’s goal.
