RFIDs helping to Save the Planet
25 November, 2009
category: RFID
In an effort to promote recycling habits, the City of Atlanta has partnered with RecycleBank and started a pilot program, properly called ReCART (Rewards for Collecting All Recyclables), which rewards participants who do their part in ensuring recyclables do not end up in city landfills.
The metro area will monitor trends in recycling through the use of special recycling bins equipped with RFID tags. The tags will be scanned upon pickup and information pertaining to frequency and weight of recyclables will be recorded.
Each participating household will earn RecycleBank points in response to their recycling efforts. The points can then be used to shop at over 1,500 Reward Partners such as Coca-Cola, Subway, CVS/pharmacy, as well as local participating Atlanta businesses. The city hopes that the program will create an incentive to recycle, conserving the environment and saving taxpayers money.
There has been some protest from those who speculate over the true intentions of the program – those that fear this is just a plot for business and government officials to monitor consumer’s spending information and buying preferences. RewardBank’s privacy policy ensures that one’s personal information will not be sold or distributed to any third parties.
Initial weigh-ins of the selected 10,000 households began in mid-November.