Fifty Communities Across The U.S. Rally for Increased Recycling

(3BL Media) Racine, WI - June 27, 2012 - Americans recycle only one-and-a-half pounds of the more than four pounds of waste they generate daily[1], adding unnecessary waste to our nation’s landfills. In an effort to help slow this trend and further inspire waste reduction efforts, SC Johnson has partnered with Recyclebank®, the award-winning recycling incentives program, to launch the SC Johnson Green Choices Recycling Challenge. The program encourages 50 communities, one in each state, to compete for the highest recycling participation rate during the six-month challenge. The winning community will receive a $100,000 grant from SC Johnson.

“Companies have a responsibility to make more environmentally conscious products and operate more sustainably, but we also need to find ways to inspire families and help them to make green choices, like recycling, an everyday action, said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. “The SC Johnson Green Choices Recycling Challenge along with our recently announced Sustainable Behavior Change Program will help us to better understand what motivates people to change their actions when it comes to waste reduction.”

The SC Johnson Sustainable Behavior Change Program is a five year research project that will bring together academics, environmentalists and consumers in an effort to identify what drives behavior change around a number of sustainable actions. Overlaying consumer-action programs will test different message techniques across communities to understand what motivates that behavior change. The program’s initial research will dovetail with the SC Johnson Green Choices Recycling Challenge.

While the challenge aims to increase consumers’ recycling, it will also contribute to the company’s goal of becoming landfill neutral by 2016. Through operational commitments as well as with the help of Recyclebank and communities[2], across the country, the company will 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.

The 50 new communities involved in the SC Johnson Green Choices Challenge will 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. 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.

“At Recyclebank, we believe that the key to unlocking the greatest environmental impact depends on businesses, government and communities working together to inspire and motivate everyday green actions,” said Jonathan Hsu, chief executive officer at Recyclebank. “Through our partnership with SC Johnson and our growing network of municipalities, we can reach an even wider audience to better educate and incentivize a daily routine to the benefit our environment, one small step at a time.”

Recyclebank is similar to a frequent flyer program; rather, members instead earn points for living a more sustainable lifestyle. Members can use those points to “shop” at Recyclebank.com for rewards such as discounts and deals from hundreds of reward partners in more than 10 categories including food and beverage, health, beauty, home, clothing, accessories and gifts. Available rewards include deals on a suite of SC Johnson brands such as Ziploc®, Windex®, Scrubbing Bubbles®, Glade®, and discounts from national retailers and restaurants. Over the course of a year, an average family can earn hundreds of points that can be redeemed for special rewards; this translates into real value — more than $160 annually.

Communities participating in the SC Johnson Green Choices Recycling Challenge include:

A leaderboard at www.recyclebank.com/greenchoices will track progress each month, and the winning community will be announced in January 2013. To learn more about SC Johnson’s sustainability efforts, 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 3,000 local and national businesses. Through its online platform and partnerships with municipalities, haulers, small businesses and corporate brands, Recyclebank is empowering individuals to make a collective impact on the environment by increasing household recycling, reducing household energy usage and taking other environmentally-preferred 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] "Municipal Solid Waste." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. Web. http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/index.htm

[2] 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.