Great use of Facebook to build brand (and show off some kiosks). Facebook | Dream Machine. This is godd example of green technology eco-friendly positioning in mainstream. And again, we have to wonder what Warren Buffet is thinking about Coca Cola (or is it Coke?).
PepsiCo and WMS in article on Wall Street Journal today talking about new green technology eco-friendly recycling kiosks. Where is Coke in all this?
By VALERIE BAUERLEIN
Worried that most of its bottles and cans are going into the trash instead of the recycling bin, PepsiCo Inc. plans to place thousands of new recycling kiosks this year at concert venues, in grocery stores and along city sidewalks.
The Purchase, N.Y., beverage giant and partner Waste Management Inc. are in search of the green movement's elusive prey, the so-called unreachable bottle tossed away by people on the go.
The average recycling rate for nonalcoholic U.S. beverage containers is 34%, and only 25% for plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate, better known as PET. Advocates say the most difficult bottle to recycle is the drink consumed on the go, as it's cumbersome to carry sticky bottles home to a bin.
PepsiCo and Waste Management want to recycle at least 400 million containers annually by putting as many as 3,000 kiosks in busy places this year, and offering incentives. "We have to get people to put up with a little inconvenience and say, 'I'll hang on to it a little bit and get a little bit of a reward," said Tim Carey, PepsiCo's sustainability director.
"There's got to be something in it for people, both through material rewards and emotional rewards," said Jeremy Cage, PepsiCo's "Dream Machine" project director.
In addition to unreachable bottles, the makers of the new machine also hope to attract what they see as unreachable consumers, who eschew recycling as a waste of time.
The Dream Machine is an attempt to be all things to all people. "Dark green" environmentalists can carry key fobs that track and reward their personal recycling efforts, and link them to a social network with regular news feeds. People who recycle at home but not on the go would get an incentive such as a chance to win a baseball cap. Those cool to environmental causes might be interested in the sponsors' promise of a per-bottle donation to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans, a business training program for disabled veterans.
Review of Greenopolis units at new Whole Foods. User tried to recycle product not sold at Whole Foods.
By Vinita Singla
Special to DNAinfo
UNION SQUARE — Despite an eco-friendly mission statement that has made it the go-to grocery store for green-minded Manhattan shoppers, customers looking to recycle empty drink containers at Whole Foods' busy 14th Street hub face an uphill battle.
Up until three weeks ago, the Union Square mega store accepted glass, plastic and aluminum at the customer service station in exchange for the state-mandated cash deposit return. Now, only a select few recyclables are redeemable in person, while customers are directed to recycle everything else at new automated machines in the front entrance, Whole Foods officials said.
But recent attempts to use the two new recycling kiosks — or "greenopolis" machines — revealed a host of headaches for well-meaning recyclers.
Those who use the machines say they jam easily, fill up quickly, and require Whole Foods staffers to come and clean them out. They also reject standard recyclables accepted elsewhere, critics said.
“It’s not accepted at this location, which is bizarre because it’s the right kind of plastic,” said Jonathan Willis, 35, as he futilely scanned the UPC code on his Gatorade bottle Tuesday afternoon inside the Whole Foods entrance.
Recyclers are having a tough time getting their deposit back with the new Whole Foods automated machine. (DNAinfo/Vinita Singla)
Willis said he came all the way from his home on the Upper West Side to try out the new machine, which is touted as the only one in the city. The dedicated recycler said he often carries around empty bottles until he can find a place to recycle them for fear of tossing them out.
After a try at the new system at Whole Foods, Willis was ready to take his recyclables elsewhere.
First Willis stepped up to the cheerfully-decorated machine and read the printed directions. He scanned the bar code on his empty plastic bottle under a reader to see if the electronic kiosk would recognize it.
After a series of attempts, all of which resulted in error messages, Willis realized he was standing at the machine that only accepted aluminum and glass. So he moved to the machine that accepted plastic and tried again. Yet another error message popped up, at which point he gave up on the Gatorade bottle and moved on to a Fiji water bottle, which registered on the first try. Then the machine pointed an arrow towards the hole where he deposited the bottle.
Next, Willis’ friend Verna Andrews tried depositing a series of plastic bottles, including some provided to her by a reporter. Her first two plastic water bottles went through fine, but her third triggered a “we’re sorry” message on the kiosk’s screen.
Self-service for Environment sake -- Orange County with recycling kiosks that let shoppers deposit glass, plastic and containers in exchange for vouchers at supermarket. 440 RePlanet kiosks in California.
New center features automatic sorting, video surveillance
BY AMANDA ESTEP
On Aug. 1, recycling became simpler, cleaner and easier for Tustin residents, thanks to a state-of-the-art self-serve kiosk that will furnish supermarket vouchers for used beverage containers.
A RePlanet recycling center, produced by TOMRA Pacific Inc., opened on the grounds of Albertsons supermarket, located at 13270 Newport Ave., last Saturday. Shoppers who deposit used glass, plastic and metal beverage containers receive vouchers redeemable at Albertsons.
“We are delighted to be working with the city of Tustin on this much-needed community service for residents,” says Adrian White, vice president of Business Development at TOMRA Pacific. “A supermarket that provides recycling facilities not only improves its image in the community, it can also leverage the increased foot traffic to gain incremental sales and increase customer loyalty.”
The RePlanet center houses four "reverse vending" machines (RVMs) that collect and sort beverage containers according to material and size. The system is equipped with Sure Return, a patented technology that provides continuous video surveillance, ensuring correct deposit refunds for customers.
In an effort to motivate consumers, TOMRA Pacific will make personnel available to help them learn how to use the machines. With more than 440 RePlanet kiosks in California, TOMRA is responsible for recycling an estimated 3 billion containers in the state, say company reps.
“Tustin, a city of 70,000 people, previously had no CRV recycling center locations located on grocery store parking lots for convenient access by the public,” says White. “The new RePlanet will be a first for Tustin and will make a significant difference in the community to help raise the area’s overall recycling rate.”