Pepsi Debuts Automated Recycling Kiosks

Exchange cans and plastic for points

In the past couple weeks, sugary drink multinational PepsiCo, in partnership with garbage overlord Waste Management, has rolled out nine automated “Dream Machine” kiosks outside area ShopRites—six in Philadelphia and one each in Bensalem, Fairless Hills and East Norriton. The machines exchange aluminum cans and plastic bottles for points, redeemable for hotel and restaurant discounts, among other incentives, at greenopolis.com.

Since the program’s national debut in 2010, PepsiCo has distributed 4,000 kiosks and bins throughout the country, with 85 in Pennsylvania, collecting approximately 40 million bottles and cans. As part of the campaign, the company has donated $1 million to a veterans program and will give $500,000 more each year plus an additional $250,000 for every 10 million pounds collected, which is one heck of a lot of cans.

That’s nice and all, and PepsiCo could certainly use some positive karma, what with all the rotten teeth and childhood obesity out there. But Philadelphia, forward-thinking green city that it is, already has RecycleBank (what, you haven’t signed up for RecycleBank?!), which allows us to exchange our curbside recyclables for greenopolis.com points from the comfort of our home, without carting our waste to the grocery store.

A PepsiCo spokesperson explained to me yesterday that in a RecycleBank-enabled city like Philadelphia, the kiosk is not necessarily meant for household recyclables but, as she put it a few times, “the incremental capture of bottles and cans on the go.” Of course, I can’t remember the last time I carried a bottle of water or can of soda around with me as I struggled with bags at ShopRite, though PepsiCo expects to install more Philadelphia area machines in high-traffic areas like gas stations, rest stops and schools.

And, well, anything that benefits both the environment and veterans and also earns me a free pizza once in a while sounds like a win-win.

The Dream Machine locator has not been updated with the new Philadelphia-area locations. You can find them here:

Bensalem: 2200 Neshaminy Boulevard

East Norriton: 55 East Germantown Pike

Fairless Hills: 547 S. Oxford Valley Road

Philadelphia: 1575 North 52nd Street
24th Street and Oregon Avenue
6710 Haverford Avenue
2946 Island Avenue
2385 Cheltenham Avenue
6901 Ridge Avenue