OVIEDO, Fla. — It pays to recycle in Oviedo. A new, free program residents can sign up for will reward their recycling efforts with clothing, groceries and other perks. WFTV asked how much people can earn.
For the more than 30,000 residents of Oviedo, what's good for the environment is about to get better for their pocketbooks.
"It sounds like a really good idea. I definitely think I'd like to take part in that," resident Gary Nusinov said.
Starting the first week of October, the city will launch a rewards program, essentially paying people to recycle.
"I know we recycle. We use the appropriate trash bins and so on," resident Doan Modianos said.
It will be free for Oviedo residents to join a national program called Recycle Bank (visit their site). When people in the city recycle, everyone who registers online will earn points. Those points will translate into discounts on products or gift cards for places like restaurants and grocery stores.
Last year, the average home in recycled about 450 pounds of materials. That would amount to more than $100 in gift cards for each home.
In some parts of the country, each house is calculated separately. In Oviedo, the points earned by the entire city will be split evenly between households.
While some residents say they're not sure if the payoff will be worth the time to register and track the points, others say it'll be a nice bonus.
"I'd have to look at how many points and what it accomplished," Modianos said.
"Well, we recycle everything we can already," Nusinov said.
The city hopes it will encourage more people to recycle and save space in the landfill. People can also earn extra points by recycling electronics. The city says it will send more information to residents in the next couple of weeks.
WFTV
