PITTSBURGH, June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) today announced a partnership with 7-Eleven Handee Marts that will make Dream Machine recycling kiosks available at more than 20 7-Eleven locations throughout Pittsburgh and the greater Pittsburgh area, increasing public access to recycling. The adoption of the recycling initiative positions 7-Eleven Handee Marts as the first in Pittsburgh to offer its customers access to a convenient and rewarding option for recycling while on-the-go.
To commemorate the launch, 7-Eleven Handee Marts hosted an event at its 4501 Glen Eden Road location in Cranberry Township with representatives from PepsiCo, Waste Management (NYSE: WM), Greenopolis, Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) and the Cranberry Township Manager's Office.
"Handee Marts is extremely excited about the opportunity to be involved in this partnership. This gives us an opportunity to do the right thing in our communities while providing exciting rewards for our guests," said Bruce Earhart, Vice President of Marketing, Handee Marts Inc. "We are also very pleased to participate in a program that provides assistance to our veterans."
The Dream Machine recycling initiative, created by PepsiCo in partnership with Waste Management and Keep America Beautiful, is introducing thousands of recycling kiosks and bins at popular public locations across North America. The kiosks are computerized receptacles that include a personal reward system, powered by Greenopolis, which allows consumers to earn points for every bottle or can they recycle in the kiosk. Those points can then be redeemed for local discounts on entertainment, dining and travel by visiting www.greenopolis.com. In addition, the more bottles and cans people recycle in Dream Machines, the more support PepsiCo will provide to the EBV, a national program offering free, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 U.S. veterans with disabilities.
"We are so pleased that 7-Eleven Handee Marts is committed to environmental sustainability and has partnered with the Dream Machine program to make recycling kiosks available to consumers," said Jeremy Cage, Senior Vice President of Innovation and Insights at PepsiCo and head of the Dream Machine recycling initiative. "By recycling in a Dream Machine, those who shop at 7-Eleven locations can earn rewards and help make a real difference for our planet and in the lives of disabled U.S. veterans."
"From our experience, successful recycling programs are fun, convenient and rewarding," said Paul Ligon, managing director for Greenopolis, a Waste Management subsidiary. "As the largest residential recycler, Waste Management is proud to extend its Greenopolis program to these locations, since it means more materials being put to reuse, as well as a more sustainable Pittsburgh."
To learn more about the Dream Machine, please visit www.facebook.com/DreamMachine. To find a Dream Machine near you, please visit www.dreammachinelocator.com.
About the Dream Machine
The Dream Machine recycling initiative, introduced on Earth Day 2010, will make thousands of new recycling kiosks and bins 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 collaboration 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 WM 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 Handee Marts
Handee Marts Inc. is a 40-year 7-Eleven licensee of 63 stores located in western Pennsylvania, northeast Ohio, and some counties in West Virginia and Maryland. We recognize the value of people – our customers, employees, franchisees and business partners – and the importance of supporting our local communities. Our stores are extended-hour retail convenience stores that emphasize "convenience" to you; the customer. We know you have a busy life, that's why our stores carry near 2,600 items including groceries, take-out foods and beverages, gasoline (at most locations), dairy products, non-food merchandise, and specialty items to make your life just a bit easier!
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About PepsiCo
PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales each. Our main businesses -- Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay, and Pepsi Cola -- also make hundreds of other enjoyable and wholesome foods and beverages that are respected household names throughout the world. With net revenues of approximately $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also means a more successful future for PepsiCo. We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo's promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages for local tastes; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment, including by conserving energy and water usage, and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support, and invest in the local communities where we operate. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.
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About Waste Management
Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, 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 The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities
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, University of Connecticut, and Louisiana State University. The training is provided at no cost to qualified and accepted veterans.
SOURCE PepsiCo