Customer Care
Need the low-down on using your points for rewards? Wondering how you can earn even more points? Have a super-specific, only-about-your-account-and-your-account-alone kind of question? We're here to help. Check out our Frequently Asked Questions for all the answers on everything Recyclebank.
Q:
How does recycling help my city/community?
A: We can’t come up with a way that it doesn’t help! Recycling reduces pollution and litter to keep your streets clean and greenery, well, green! It preserves the environment, so your kids and their kids can enjoy it the way you did – maybe even better! And recycling also helps your community save and generate money by avoiding landfill fees and from the sale of recyclables, respectively.
Q:
In my community, I have to report my recycling to get my points. How do I report?
A: A couple of ways:
1. Go to
Earn Points and click the “Yes, I recycled” box each time your recycling is picked up.
2. Tell us from the comfort of, well, anywhere using the Recyclebank app on your Android Smartphone or iPhone.
Q:
In my community, I have to report my recycling to get my points. How often do I need to do this?
A: To ensure that you get as many points as you’ve earned, it’s best to report your recycling achievements after every collection period in which you participate.
Q:
What do I do if I forgot to report my recycling?
A: You can only report your recycling during the calendar week (Monday–Sunday) in which your pick up occurred. You cannot report for past weeks. To help you remember to report your activity, set a
Recycling Reminder in your Account Settings.
Q:
I’ve waited more than 4 weeks to report my recycling. What does that mean?
A: Unfortunately, we can only award you points for the last four weeks and, of course, all of the recycling you report going forward.
Q:
I’ve reported my recycling but don’t have my points yet. Why?
A: Sometimes it takes up to a week after you report your recycling before your points are posted to your account. If it’s been more than a week,
let us know and we’ll track them down for you.
Q:
How do I earn Recyclebank Points specifically from recycling?
A: Yes, you asked our favorite question! Recycling is one of the easiest and best ways to earn points – and makes an immediate and huge, huge, HUGE difference in our world.
There are a few ways in which cities work with us through our home recycling program.
• In some areas, we use technology (on trucks and on your cart) to determine how much you recycled. Your recycling cart will be weighed each week when your recycling is picked up. The weight of your cart is translated into a number of Recyclebank Points, which you can redeem for rewards. So, the more you recycle, the more you earn! Super easy, right?
• In other communities, we use technology (on trucks and/or your recycling carts) to look at who participated in recycling and to get the total weight of the recycling collected in a neighborhood (or a specific sanitation truck route). In these communities, individual households that recycled earn points based on an equal percentage of the total neighborhood recycling weight. Whatever your piece of the pie ends up being that week, we deposit that amount of points into your individual Recyclebank account. It’s our everybody wins philosophy.
• A third approach is a slight tweak on the collective community option above. In these communities, we need you to tell us you recycled on our site or via our mobile app in order to get your share of the community’s Recyclebank Points for each collection.
Be sure to check with your city to see which program your neighborhood uses.
Q:
How many points can I earn each month for recycling at home?
A: A lot. You can earn up to 450 points a month or 5,400 points a year just from home recycling if your city or hauler offers this program. You can earn all the points you want for other available actions such as Learn and Earn offers, taking a survey or two, and more one-time opportunities as they come up.
Q:
How many pounds must I recycle in order to earn points?
A: For every one pound of recycling, you will earn 2.5 Recyclebank Points. For you mathletes out there, that means we’ll reward you for recycling up to 180 pounds a month or 2,160 pounds a year. Wowza.
A: It’s up to your local government, as recyclable items vary from town to town, city to city. Contact them or your waste hauler directly to get a full list.
Q:
What if I have more recyclables than fit in my cart?
A: We love hearing that this is a “problem.” We’ll help you arrange to get a larger recycling cart. Just
send us an email.
Q:
What happens if I put items in my recycling cart that are not recyclable?
A: This is a huge no-no. We take this sort of thing very seriously here and it will negatively affect your Recyclebank account, could jeopardize the program for your whole community, and it’s just not fair. So please be careful that you place only items that your community deems recyclable in your cart.
Q:
How can I get my community involved in the Recyclebank program?
A: Contact your local government. Tell them about all of the great things we’re doing together, how it can save – and even make – your community money and beautify all of your surroundings.
Plus, there are plenty of other ways you can get involved with Recyclebank outside of home recycling.
Learn about all of your options.
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