Palmer Township EAC – Meeting Minutes

Environmental Steering Committee

December 2, 2009

Attendees: Tom Ganssle, Chris Briglia, Robert Lammi, Tom Dittmar, Dave Sciascia, Terry Cooper, Cindy Oatis, Jhon Orlock, Rob Reese, Nancy Nicholas, Ron Kantor

Meeting opened: 7:02 PM

Approval of Minutes: 1) October 28, 2009 minutes were approved unanimously with no revisions.

Guests: Robert Natkie (Mascaro Hauling); John Thomas Balas: interested in becoming a new member of the ESC.

Hauler Report: 1) Robert Natkie (RN) was present and also had the following comments and/or suggestions:

Nothing necessary to report.

Recycling Coordinator Report: Cindy Oatis was present and also had the following comments and/or suggestions:

Cindy O. tabled her report until the next scheduled ESC meeting.

Old Business:

No old business discussed.

New Business:

Valerie Cloutier, the account marketing manager for RecycleBank made the following presentation:

Valerie Cloutier (VC) explained that the company is 4 years old and is an international rewards company that offers incentives to municipalities with "green" habits. VC mentioned that the company presently has 2200 reward partners to date, one of them being "cashless.com". The business model for the company is a "google" business model for advertising which is now backed by Venture Capitol Bank. The company will hopefully start realizing profit in a couple of years. VC mentioned that one of the incentives of the program would be increased eligibility for grant funds. She explained that the amount of recycled material would be converted to reward points which could be redeemed at local and national participating businesses. Points can be redeemed at any time via toll-free phone or web site. The web site would offer an individual account page which itemizes a residents material quantities and amount of points earned. Points can also be donated to various charitable organizations. The average resident could earn approximately $200/yr. in points. The average point value is $0.10. Palmer Township can potentially increase their recycling amounts fro 400lbs/yr/res to 700lbs/yr/res. If the Township in interested in participating, a "Mayor's Letter" should be mailed to Township residents for notification and this would also initialize program participation. Recycling education would increase by virtue of the program itself. The program could be 80% activated within 1 year. The cost of operation to the average household would be approximately $1.00. Bob L. mentioned that the residents quarterly invoice for refuse would increase to compensate for administrative costs but that the points earned by the program should quickly compensate for the additional cost to the resident. Robert Natkie is a member of the program and he mentioned that the human nature factor will be ever present throughout the program. He has seen people cheat the system in several ways and recommended that more "policing" would be necessary.

Announcements: (1)Tom D. mentioned the need to start scheduling for the 2010 E-Cycling Event. (2)Tom G. advised that the January ESC meeting will be mainly for reorganization. Rob R. suggested that the committee consider updating the ESC priority list for the year.

Adjournment: 8:12pm motion to adjourn meeting.

Next Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for January 27, 2010 at 7:00 PM at the Palmer Township Municipal Building.

Minutes submitted by Chris Briglia December 9, 2009