Firstar Fiber (Firstar) is proud to announce an exclusive relationship with RecycleBank, a rewards program that motivates households to recycle. Firstar is the first to offer this groundbreaking and totally recharged way to recycle across all of Nebraska. Through Firstar's partnerships with haulers throughout the state, the average household in the program can expect to earn hundreds of dollars worth of rewards each year through their recycling efforts.

Here's how it works:

RecycleBank motivates households and communities to recycle by rewarding RecycleBank Reward Points to households for their recycling efforts.

• Households receive a cart embedded with an RFID (radio frequency identification) chip and all recyclables (with no sorting) are placed into the cart for curbside pickup
  
  
• Recycling trucks retrofitted with RecycleBank technology read the RFID chip and record the amount the household recycles
  
  
• The weight and participation is then translated into RecycleBank Reward Points These Points can be viewed and redeemed at www.recyclebank.com with hundreds of national and local RecycleBank Reward Partners such as Coca-Cola, Bed Bath and Beyond, CVS/pharmacy, Hy-Vee, BLIMPE and Kraft Foods.

The first private hauler to offer this program to its subscribers is Elkhorn Sanitation Services (ESS) which services households in the Omaha area. In the Lincoln area, service will be offered through RecycleLink.

To sign up for the RecycleBank program in NE, contact the participating hauler or go online to www.recyclebank.com and click on the request service button.

About Firstar

Located in Omaha, Firstar Fiber provides processing for commercial and residential recyclables. Firstar Fiber uses processing technology that allows recyclables to be commingled at the point of generation. This technology is called:"single-stream" recycling. The company provides this and other recycling services throughout Nebraska and a good portion of the Midwest Region. From Firstar Fiber's facility in Omaha the company sells the sorted recyclables to markets both national and internationally. Firstar Fiber was founded in Nebraska in 1997. Visit www.firstarfiber.com for more information

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About RecycleBank

RecycleBank is a rewards program that motivates people to recycle. It does this by quickly and easily measuring the amount of material each home recycles and then converting that activity into RecycleBank reward points that can be used at hundreds of local and national rewards partners. RecycleBank is simple to implement, market-driven and proven to work, saving municipalities' money and rewarding citizens for their environmental stewardship. Visit www.recyclebank.com for more information.

Download the Scorecard here!

Dear Neighborhood Leader,

• Are you interested in finding out how "green" your neighborhood is?
• Does the opportunity to work with organizations to "green up" your neighborhood interest you?
• Would you like to be recognized for your efforts to create a "green neighborhood?"

Then keep reading!

Green Neighborhood Council Launches Scorecard
The Green Omaha Coalition's Green Neighborhood Council has developed the Green Neighborhood Scorecard, a tool to be used to assess the "greenness" of neighborhoods while identifying areas of environmental need.

Download the Scorecard here!


Why Your Neighborhood Should Participate
Neighborhoods that complete and submit the Scorecard will help the Green Neighborhood Council do the following:

• Find out current "green" scores for neighborhoods in Douglas County
• Assess what environmental information/resources are needed by neighborhoods in Douglas County
• Develop practical projects to create "green" neighborhoods
• Establish a baseline to help you measure your neighborhood’s environmental progress

The Scorecard is
The Scorecard is a 15-question survey to be completed at a neighborhood level. Topics covered in the survey include Waste & Recycling, Food, Water & Stormwater, and Transportation.

The scorecard also provides practical tips and resources for neighborhood leaders to use in their efforts to begin greening their neighborhoods.

Completing the Scorecard is an interactive process that will require respondent(s) to get out and walk around their neighborhoods to find answers to most of the survey questions. The Scorecard can be completed over a few days/outings.

How Can My Neighborhood Participate?

• You can find the Green Neighborhood Scorecard included with this letter
• The Green Neighborhood Scorecard will also be available for download, starting April 15, 2008, at the Green Omaha Coalition website www.greenomahacoalition.org.
• Copies of the Green Neighborhood Scorecard can be picked up at the Neighborhood Center for Greater Omaha, 115 S. 49th Avenue, Omaha, NE
• Additional Scorecards can be mailed to you by contacting Ann Hosford (Scorecard Committee Member) at 551.4862.

Submittal Deadline

• Completed Scorecards should be submitted to the Green Neighborhood Council by 30 June 2008
• Completed Scorecards can be mailed/dropped-off to the Green Neighborhood Council Co-chair, Daniel Lawse, at the Neighborhood Center for Greater Omaha, 115 S. 49th Avenue -- Omaha, NE 68131

Outcomes

• Neighborhoods with high scores will be eligible for recognition at a neighborhood summit scheduled for September.
• Interested neighborhoods, which have submitted a completed Scorecard, will be eligible to work with the Green Neighborhood Council, and other environmental groups, to learn ways to create a green neighborhood.