Penn State Berks Teams Up With PepsiCo To Increase Recycling Efforts On Campus

PepsiCo Recycling incentivizes college students to recycle beverage containers

Reading, PA ? April 18, 2014? Penn State Berks announced today that it has advanced its recycling efforts by teaming up with PepsiCo Recycling to bring added recycling incentives, including a PepsiCo Dream Machine kiosk, to campus. With PepsiCo Recycling in just its third year, Penn State Berks is proud to be among the first to introduce this rewarding program that provides students with an easy and convenient way to make a difference by recycling their bottles and cans on the go.

As part of the collaboration, Penn State Berks will compete in PepsiCo?s 2014-15 college 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 to 50 percent by 2018. Since PepsiCo issued its goal in 2010, recycling rates have already increased by 7 percent (from 34 percent to 41 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. PepsiCo has collected over 247 million containers and 14 million pounds of recyclable materials through the Dream Machine program alone to date. The Penn State Berks kiosk is located at the Perkins Student Center.

Aside from the inherent benefits of keeping our communities free of beverage can litter and our landfills free of recyclable materials, recycling in a Dream Machine enables students to help support disabled U.S. veterans. The recycled materials make it possible for PepsiCo to donate funds to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV). Through the EBV program, post-9/11 disabled veterans receive training, at no cost, in entrepreneurship and small business management so they can make their own dreams come true.

?We are thrilled to partner with Penn State Berks 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.?

?We are excited about working with PepsiCo to enable a recycling experience that is fun and rewarding for students on many levels,? said Kathy Ashby, Director of Housing and Food Services at Penn State Berks. ?I know both our students and faculty care about making a positive difference, and with the convenience and added incentives that come with PepsiCo?s Recycling program, I expect Penn State Berks to play an important role in contributing to this initiative.?

To learn more about PepsiCo Recycling, please visit PepsiCoRecycling.com.

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About PepsiCo Recycling
The PepsiCo Recycling initiative, introduced on Earth Day 2010, brings innovative recycling solutions to colleges and universities, K-12 schools, gas stations and popular retail locations across North America with the goal of increasing the U.S. beverage container recycling rate to 50 percent by 2018. With programs including Dream Machine container collections and Recycle Rallies, and the help of many strategic partners, students and public citizens alike, PepsiCo is well on its way to achieving its goal. To learn more, please visit PepsiCoRecycling.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 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.

About The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities
The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) is a program created at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University and operated under the auspices of SU?s Institute for Veterans and Military Families, designed to provide training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities resulting from military service. The mission of the EBV is to open the door to business ownership for veterans, by developing skills that relate to the many steps associated with launching and growing a small business. Today, the EBV is offered through a national consortium of world-class schools across the country, which includes Syracuse University, Texas A&M University, The Florida State University, UCLA, Purdue University, the University of Connecticut, Cornell University and Louisiana State University. The training is provided at no cost to qualified veterans.

Media Contacts:

PepsiCo: Penn State Berks
Megan Marshall Lisa Baldi
612.215.3436 610.396.6054
[email protected] [email protected]