PepsiCo introduces recycling initiative

Purchase, NY - 2010 - PepsiCo and Waste Management, Inc, announced a multi-year partnership in support of the Dream Machine recycling initiative designed around PepsiCo's goal of increasing the U.S. beverage container recycling rate from 34 percent to 50 percent by 2018. Dream Machine kiosks are computerized receptacles that include a personal reward system that allows consumers to collect and redeem points for each bottle or can they recycle in the kiosk.

The program also intends to provide funding to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), a national program offering free, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities.  The more that people recycle bottles and cans in a Dream Machine, the more support PepsiCo can provide EBV for career training, education and job creation. The relationship with EBV is a natural extension of PepsiCo's current partnership with American Corporate Partners, a nationwide mentoring program dedicated to helping veterans transition from the armed services to private enterprise.

PepsiCo leads the industry by incorporating 10 percent recycled plastic in soft drink containers in the U.S.  Currently, less than a third of plastic beverage containers are being recycled each year and only 12 percent of public spaces are equipped with recycling receptacles, illustrating a clear need for greater public access to recycling bins. TheDream Machine recycling initiative will introduce thousands of new recycling kiosks in popular public venues such as gas stations, stadiums, and public parks to make it more convenient and rewarding for consumers to recycle on the go.  In addition to over fifty machines being rolled out in Southern California, Rite Aid is set to be one of the first national retailers to sign on to the program, starting with 150 kiosks in their North Carolina locations. PepsiCo has also entered into a partnership with Keep America Beautiful, Inc. (KAB) to encourage community involvement in the program by engaging nearly 600 local KAB affiliate organizations in communities nationwide. 

The Dream Machines will be provided by GreenOps, LLC, a subsidiary of Waste Management, and operated by Greenopolis, the first interactive recycling system that brings together online and on street technologies and rewards people for recycling their beverage containers in kiosks by allowing them to receive awards when they visitwww.greenopolis.com.

"It takes only a small change in behavior to make a big difference for our planet.  If every household in the U.S. recycled just three more plastic bottles a month, we could divert more than 23 million pounds of plastic from our landfills each month and increase the amount of recycled plastic used to manufacture new bottles," said Jeremy Cage, PepsiCoand Head of the Dream Machine recycling initiative. "We've built in emotional and material rewards, including support of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), to help motivate people who do not actively recycle to join the movement." 

The multi-year agreement with Waste Management is unique in that it enables the local capture and recycling of PET and Aluminum, using both technology enabled and non-technology enabled Dream Machines. 

"As the largest recycler in North America, we know that convenience is key to increasing capture rates of recyclable materials, especially in public spaces," said David Aardsma, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Waste Management. "Our investment in innovative recycling technologies like GreenOps furthers our goal of providing customers with cost-efficient, environmental solutions and improving recycling rates across the country."