Freedom Valu Centers Introduces PepsiCo's Dream Machine Recycling Program to Metro Minneapolis-St. Paul

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) today announced a partnership with Freedom Valu Centers convenience stores in Minnesota that will make the Dream Machine recycling program available at 19 Freedom Valu locations in metro Minneapolis-St. Paul. The launch positions Freedom Valu Centers among the first convenience store chains to launch the Dream Machine program in Minnesota.

To commemorate the launch, Freedom Valu Centers hosted an event at its 1535 Beam Avenue location in Maplewood where State Senator Charles W. Wiger, and representatives from PepsiCo, Waste Management (NYSE: WM), Greenopolis, and the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) welcomed the Dream Machine recycling initiative.

"I'm thrilled to welcome the Dream Machine recycling program to my hometown and the metro Minneapolis-St. Paul area," Sen. Wiger said.  "I applaud Freedom Valu Centers for helping to increase access to recycling for our visitors and residents. Now, we can all benefit from the great rewards offered through this program, and play a role in helping to keep the great state of Minnesota green."

"We are dedicated to providing our customers with convenience. Our associates take pride in the services we offer and we are excited to now include the Dream Machine recycling program," said Rick Cagle of Freedom Valu Centers. "We encourage everyone to stop in and experience the Dream Machine and the numerous reward opportunities available for simply recycling a bottle or can."

The Dream Machine recycling initiative, created by PepsiCo in collaboration 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.  

"PepsiCo is proud to welcome Freedom Valu Centers to the Dream Machine recycling program," said Jeremy Cage, Senior Vice President and Head of the Dream Machine Recycling Initiative, PepsiCo. "Freedom Valu is committed to making on-the-go recycling more convenient and rewarding, and we hope others will join them in their commitment to sustainability. By recycling in a Dream Machine, Freedom Valu shoppers can earn rewards and will 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. "We are proud to extend the Greenopolis program to Freedom Valu, since it means more materials being put to reuse, as well as a more sustainable Twin Cities."

To learn more about the Dream Machine, visit Facebook.com/DreamMachine. To find a Dream Machine near you, visit 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 GreenOps, LLC, a subsidiary of Recyclebank®, 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 Freedom Valu Centers

Freedom Valu Centers is a wholly owned subsidiary of Erickson Oil Products, based in Hudson, WI.   Erickson Oil Products is a family owned company founded in 1950 by Herman Erickson and son Claire Erickson.  Currently, there are 65 Freedom convenience stores located throughout MN, WI, SD and MI.  Erickson Oil Products employs approximately 700 people including sales associates and supporting staff.   Freedom Valu centers is committed to being a responsible retailer and encourages recycling to minimize the impact on the environment. For more information, please visit www.freedomvalu.com.

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 Recyclebank®, the company that helps create a more sustainable future by rewarding people for taking every day green actions with discounts and deals from more than 3,000 local and national businesses. 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