Vending Machines Give Back

Have you heard about the latest vending machine?  Pepsi and Waste Management have introduced a machine to encourage recycling, “The Dream Machine.”  Old cans and bottles can be deposited into the machine, and the customer gets points in return to redeem for prizes.  The intent is to place the new machines in high traffic areas to garner a lot of attention (and participation). 

I’m all for recycling, especially since it is now so easy.  I remember when my town started recycling when I was young, and everything had to be separated:  one box for brown glass, one for clear, one for green; one for aluminum cans, one for steel…you get the idea.  It was pretty cumbersome.  Plus, you could save the aluminum and bring it to a center for (a very little) cash.  I’m guessing that a lot of my neighbors found it easier to just pitch the recyclables out with the trash, but did see the occasional bag get hoisted into the car for a trip to the Golden Goat. 

So, now that things have changed, will these reverse vendors be like a modern day Golden Goat machines?  I can’t imagine a kid nowadays going into the mall or another similar location (where these machines are planned to be), bag full of empty cans in hand, waiting in line for the person before to finish unloading their recyclables.  To be fair, this reverse vending machine seems to be targeting those who finish a soda and are looking for a trash can to dump it in, but once the list of prizes is released and these machines start getting widespread recognition, it will be interesting to see if some sort of point frenzy occurs.  Wait and see…

christine.papesch@veii.com