KOAM TV 7 Joplin and PittsburgDream Machine makes recycling easier and rewarding

Freeman Health System offers a new way for residents in Joplin to recycle.

The Pepsi Company "Dream Machine" now sits in Freeman's cafeteria and it's the only one of its kind at a public hospital in Missouri.

For Marcia Phillips it's a dream come true.  Phillips works in the Financial Planning Department at Freeman and they collect large amounts of recyclables, including bottles cans and toner.

Now recycling is easier and rewarding.

"I think I'm an environmentally friendly person," Phillips says.  "We do a lot of recycling at home."

The PepsiCo Dream Machine accepts aluminum cans and plastic bottles.  The name originated from the rewards and discounts it can give you.

skip harper, environmental health & safety officer, freeman-

"Ashley Furniture has a discount, Arnies Villa, Dominos Pizza, hotels have discounts, you can also learn about rewards for your favorite organization - the Humane Society," says Skip Harper, the Environmental Health & Safety officer for Freeman.  "You can take those rewards and convert them to cash and it goes to the Humane Society.  There's a Keep America Beautiful campaign.  There's different options for every user."

"I think it's going to help our community," says Phillips.  "It's going to help our environment and it's going to make a safer place for our kids as they grow up."

So far over 3,000 of the machines have been set up in the U.S.

In addition to Freeman, the recycling kiosks are also at Price Cutters and Missouri Southern.