CITIES SQUARE OFF FOR THE TITLE OF 'COINSTAR'S GREENEST CITY'
Coinstar® To Award Environmental Non-Profit With $10,000 Grant
BELLEVUE, Wash. – August 21, 2008 – As part of its Change for our Earth initiative, Coinstar today launched a city-to-city competition to identify and reward 'Coinstar's Greenest City' in America. A non-profit organization in the winning city will be awarded a $10,000 grant to be put towards an environmentally beneficial project in their community. Coinstar® will measure coin cash-ins at Coinstar Centers® in each of the participating cities to determine the winning city.
'Coinstar's Greenest City' contest encourages people to reuse their coins and help reduce the need for primary copper production used to create new coin. With an estimated $10 billion in coin sitting idle in U.S. households, reusing even 10 percent could supply roughly 15 billion coins, contributing significantly to the country's coin needs.
"Coinstar is in the business of putting consumer coin back into circulation. Over the years we've learned how individuals can truly impact coin in circulation and the quantity of new coin that is minted -- simply by cashing it in or reusing it," said Alex Camara, senior vice president of worldwide coin at Coinstar, Inc. "The Change for our Earth program and Coinstar's Greenest City contest helps raise awareness for the positive benefits of coin reuse."
Participation in the Contest:
1. Nominate a Green Project to Receive Financial Grant
Between now and September 8 Coinstar invites people in participating cities to submit an environmentally-focused project idea affiliated with a non-profit organization. Entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges and finalists will be announced on September 12. To submit a project visit www.changeforourearth.com.
2. Put Your Change Back into Circulation
Cash in at your local Coinstar Center from September 15 through October 15, 2008. The city with the highest percentage increase in coin cash-ins compared to a year ago will be named 'Coinstar's Greenest City'. The non-profit organization identified as the finalist in that city will receive a $10,000 grant to help fund its environmental project. The winning city and project will be announced on October 21.
Individuals don't have to participate in the contest to make a difference. Coinstar encourages Americans to reuse coin in whatever way best suits their needs, whether it's donating it to charity, using it for parking meters, putting it towards cash transactions or cashing in at a Coinstar Center. And, consumers can get free coin counting at Coinstar Centers when they choose to place the value of their change onto a gift card or eCertificate from a variety of national retailers.
"Following our study of data from the International Copper Association, European Copper Institute, the U.S. Mint and Coinstar, we've concluded that reusing and re-circulating coin has the potential to significantly avoid certain environmental impacts by displacing the amount of copper needed to mint new coins," said Bill Stough, chief executive officer of the Sustainable Research Group. "Reusing coin is something everyone can do and as a result of putting coin back into circulation we can all help avoid these impacts."
For more information and contest rules, visit www.changeforourearth.com. For more information on the environmental savings associated with reusing your coin please see our fact sheet here.
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About Coinstar, Inc.
Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is a multi-national company offering a range of 4th Wall™ solutions for the retailers' front of store consisting of self-service coin counting, money transfer, electronic payment solutions, entertainment services and self-service DVD rental. The Company's products and services can be found at more than 50,000 retail locations including supermarkets, drug stores, mass merchants, financial institutions, convenience stores and restaurants.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Sydney Siegmeth
Porter Novelli
(206) 770-7011
sydney.siegmeth@porternovelli.com
Sarah Jones
Coinstar, Inc.
(425) 943-8121
sjones@coinstar.com
