Earn Rewards for Recycling Your Cans at Joliet Junior College

The PepsiCo Dream Machine is located in the Campus Center cafeteria, located at 1215 Houbolt Road in Joliet.

The Dream Machine, an electronic recycling slot located in the Campus Center cafeteria, will give each user five points for every can or bottle recycled. Users must record their points online at www.pepsicorecycling.com, and once they reach 100, they can choose their rewards.

JJC partnered with PepsiCo Recycling in an effort to get more students to recycle.

“It’s a great way for students to get rewarded and to encourage them to participate in JJC’s sustainability activities,” said Maria Anna Rafac, JJC sustainability committee chair. “Keeping the campus clean is everybody’s job.”

PepsiCo Recycling began this initiative in 2010, with a goal to increase the U.S. beverage container recycling rate by 50 percent by 2018. Since then, Dream Machines have been installed across the country, and beverage container recycling has increased by 7 percent.

As long as people continue to use the Dream Machine, PepsiCo Recycling has promised to donate to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV). The EBV is a national program that gives free training to post-9/11 veterans who have goals of starting their own businesses.

“By recycling in the on-campus Dream Machine, students can make a real difference for our planet and in the lives of disabled U.S. veterans,” said Tim Carey, senior director of sustainability at PepsiCo.

Students who choose to recycle using the Dream Machine should make sure to list JJC as their school when signing up. PepsiCo has invited colleges and universities across the country to compete against each other to see which institution can recycle the most as part of PepsiCo’s 2013-2014 college recycling challenge.

According to JJC Director of Facility Services Pat Van Duyne, the Dream Machine only takes aluminum and plastic bottles. He encourages people to use designated recycle bins around campus for other materials, such as glass and paper.

For more information about PepsiCo Recycling’s Dream Machine, or to sign up for the program, visit www.pepsicorecycling.com. Individuals can also sign up at the Dream Machine kiosk. For more information about JJC’s sustainability plans, visit www.jjc.edu/about/committees/sustainable-campus.