Green VC

RecycleBank. a Philadelphia-based company that provides financial benefits for households to recycle, has closed a $30 million round of series B venture capital financing, according to VentureWire (via Private Equity HUB).  This round was led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, with series A investors RRE Ventures and Sigma Partners also participating.  RecycleBank has also previously received seed funding from Columbia University’s Eugene M. Lang Center for Entrepreneurship and a $2 million investment from The Coca-Cola Company.

As described by RecycleBank, its core service framework is as follows:

• Households receive a cart embedded with an RFID (radio frequency identification) chip and all recyclables 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 which households can view and redeem at www.recyclebank.com.
• These Points can be used with more than 400 national RecycleBank Reward Partners such as Coca-Cola, IKEA, Starbucks Coffee and Kraft Foods, as well as local reward partners such as restaurants and grocery stores.

RecycleBank was founded in 2004 and currently provides service in more than 35 municipalities in the states of Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.  The company states that more than 36 million tons of recyclables have been diverted from landfills through use of its services.

RecycleBank is planning to expand nationally in 2008 and in February announced the addition of Doug Lebda (President and COO of IAC; Founder of LendingTree) to its Board of Directors in furtherance of these plans.

The video below provides a brief overview of RecycleBank:

For more information:

• RecycleBank home page
• RecycleBank Appoints IAC’s Doug Lebda to Board of Directors (February 20, 2008)
• Coca-Cola Invests $2 Million in Innovative Recycling Program RecycleBank (October 10, 2007)
• RecycleBank Inks $13.1 Million Deal with RRE Ventures and Sigma Partners (May 8, 2007)