CCU teams up with PepsiCo to increase recycling efforts on campus
"We are thrilled to partner with Coastal Carolina University to make recycling beverage containers a more fun, rewarding and convenient process for college students," said Tim Carey, senior director of sustainability at PepsiCo. "By recycling in the on-campus Dream Machine, students can earn personal rewards, show their school spirit and help to make a real difference for our planet and in the lives of disabled U.S. veterans."
As part of the collaboration, CCU will join in PepsiCo's Campus Recycling Challenge, which pits participating colleges and universities against one another in a competition that tracks recycling progress online at PepsiCoRecycling.com.
The PepsiCo Recycling program has introduced thousands of new recycling solutions to colleges and universities, K-12 schools, gas stations and busy retail locations across North America with the goal of increasing the U.S. beverage container recycling rate. Since the launch of the program in 2010, recycling rates have already increased by 8 percentage points (from 34 percent to 42 percent today).
The Dream Machine program, one of PepsiCo's many recycling initiatives, consists of computerized receptacles that reward users with points for every plastic PET #1 beverage bottle or aluminum can recycled in the kiosk. Points can be redeemed for local discounts on entertainment, dining and travel at PepsiCoRecycling.com. To date, PepsiCo has collected more than 2.2 million containers on college and university campuses, and a total of 15 million containers through the Dream Machine program alone. The Coastal Carolina University kiosk is located at Tradition Hall, one of the new student residence halls.
Aside from the inherent benefits of keeping communities free of beverage can litter and landfills free of recyclable materials, recycling in a Dream Machine enables students to help support clean drinking water and disabled U.S. veterans. Through PepsiCo's "Recycle for Nature" program, every time students recycle a bottle or can in the Dream Machine, PepsiCo will donate to The Nature Conservancy to protect clean drinking water for millions of people in America's iconic waterways. Students can further support the cause by selecting to donate their rewards points to The Nature Conservancy when they redeem their points online.
The materials recycled in the Dream Machine also make it possible for PepsiCo to donate funds to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), which provides post-9/11 disabled veterans free training in entrepreneurship and small business management.
"We are excited about working with PepsiCo to offer a recycling experience that is fun and rewarding for students on many levels," said Jennifer Sellers, CCU's sustainability coordinator. "I know both our students and faculty care about making a positive difference, and with the convenience and added incentives that come with PepsiCo Recycling's program, I expect Coastal Carolina to play an important role in contributing to this initiative."