In response to complaints, the company has changed its procedure, nixing the interminable thing. (Which they say was just 15 minutes long.) They are working on a new - shorter - substitute that they hope to have ready by Monday.
"Good. Yes. Excellent," was Shalala's reaction.
"I'm all for recycling," he added. "I think it can work." But as for the recording - whatever its precise length - "that's a long dissertation."
RecycleBank is a for-profit company co-founded by Ron Gonen, a former area resident and graduate of Germantown Academy. It runs programs in 20 states, including more than two dozen area municipalities such as Newtown Township and Cherry Hill.
The program gives people points for the amount of material recycled. The points can be redeemed for coupons or discounts at hundreds of area and national businesses, or donated to charity.
Those incentives, the company says, could add up to a value of about $240 a year for an average family.
But to get the rewards, people have to sign up. Those who go online at www.PhillyRecyclingPays.com are presented with a visual version of the agreement - the kind of thing people invariably ignore, clicking directly on "I agree." Finished!
Alas, things don't work quite that way on the phone. Thus, the recording.
Why so long? "It's 15 minutes because a lot of lawyers got together," said RecycleBank spokeswoman Lisa Pomerantz, adding, "We're just being up-front. 'This is the program, this is what it means, this is how it works.' "
People may need to know, for instance, that some of the coupons may have an expiration date. Or that using some requires a minimum purchase. Or that coupons offered one week may differ from those offered the next.
