RSU Partners with PepsiCo to Place Recycling Dream Machine on Campus

Rogers State University has partnered with Pepsico to place a Dream Machine recycling kiosk on its Claremore campus, providing students and faculty with a convenient and rewarding method of recycling their bottles and cans while on-the-go.

The Dream Machine kiosk is located in the Centennial Center and static recycling bins have been placed in various locations on the Claremore campus to capture the plastic bottles and aluminum cans used by students, faculty and visitors.

The Dream Machine recycling initiative, created by PepsiCo in partnership with Waste Management, is introducing thousands of recycling kiosks at locations across the U.S.

The Dream Machine kiosk is a computerized receptacle that includes a personal reward system, operated by Greenopolis, which allows consumers to earn points for every bottle or can they recycle in the kiosk and redeem those points for discounts on entertainment, dining and travel.

The more bottles and cans people recycle in Dream Machines, the more support PepsiCo will provide to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, a national program offering free training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities.

“Providing access to recycling bins is a critical first step in increasing the beverage container recycling rate, and we are so pleased that RSU has decided to partner with PepsiCo to make Dream Machines available on its campus,” said Jeremy Cage, PepsiCo’s head of the Dream Machine recycling initiative. “By recycling in Dream Machines, students and faculty can be proud that their efforts are helping make a real difference for our planet and in the lives of U.S. veterans.”

“Experience tells us that people are much more likely to recycle if it’s convenient, and they are rewarded for doing so,” said Paul Ligon, managing director for Greenopolis, a Waste Management subsidiary. “We look forward to working with RSU to provide their community with a recycling experience that is fun and rewarding on many levels.”

PepsiCo has also entered into a partnership with Keep America Beautiful, Inc., to encourage community involvement in the program by engaging nearly 600 local affiliate organizations in communities nationwide, including three in Oklahoma.

In addition to RSU, Dream Machines can be found at Oklahoma State University and Oral Roberts University, as well as Reasor’s Grocery stores and other locations in northeastern Oklahoma.

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About the Dream Machine:
The Dream Machine recycling initiative, introduced on Earth Day 2010, will make thousands of new recycling kiosks available in popular public venues such as gas stations, stadiums, and public parks.

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 multi-year partnership with Waste Management enables the local capture and recycling of PET and Aluminum, using both technology enabled and non-technology enabled recycling kiosks. The Dream Machines are 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. People who recycle their beverage containers in kiosks can redeem points they collect and receive awards when they visit www.greenopolis.com.

About PepsiCo:
PepsiCo offers the world’s largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses – Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade – also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in more than 200 countries. With annualized revenues of nearly $60 billion, PepsiCo’s people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. In recognition of its continued sustainability efforts, PepsiCo was named for the third time to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and for the fourth time to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI North America) in 2009. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

About Waste Management:
Waste Management, based in Houston, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Our subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. We are also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Our customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America.

About Greenopolis:
Greenopolis LLC, is a subsidiary of Waste Management. Greenopolis.com is the first interactive community that connects the online conversation about recycling and resource management with opportunities to track the products that consumers use and recycle through recycling kiosks located in public venues and other on the go locations. Through Greenopolis, environmentally responsible individuals can earn rewards for recycling and resource-conscious companies can better understand the lifecycle of their products. “Rethink. Recycle. Reward. Closing the Loop Together.” For more information: www.greenopolis.com.

About Keep America Beautiful, Inc.:
Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. With a network of nearly 1,200 affiliate and participating organizations, Keep America Beautiful forms public-private partnerships and programs that prevent litter, reduce waste, increase recycling, and create greener public spaces. To learn more, visit www.kab.org.

About EBV:
The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) is a program first created by the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, designed to provide training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities resulting from their military service. The mission of the EBV is to open the door to business ownership for our veterans, by developing skills that relate to the many steps associated with launching and growing a small business. Today the EBV is offered by a network of world-class business schools across the U.S., that includes Syracuse University, Texas A&M University, Florida State University, UCLA, Purdue University, and the University of Connecticut. The training is provided at no cost to eligible veterans.