Rules and regulations regarding air travel are becoming so stringent and dynamic it is hard to keep track of them. The by-product of constantly changing policies in airports is waste—people are often required to dispose of liquids then throw the container in the garbage, sending recyclable materials to the landfill. One German airport has come up with a solution to the problem that combines recycling with charitable donations; it’s a win-win for travelers and the environment.
Additionally, when the bottles are tossed,the deposit is lost, so the Frankfurt airport installed a machine that not only recycles the bottles, but also lets travelers donate the deposit charge to a charity of their choice.Charity options include the World Wildlife Fund, Luftfahrt Ohne Grenzen (LOF – Aviation Without Borders), or local Frankfurt based charities like the Frankfurter Tafel, a food donation charity, and Franziskustreff, a charity fund for the homeless. If no selection is made the deposit charge is donated to the World Wildlife Fund.
While the machine does a good job at helping travelers be more environmentally conscious when flying out of Frankfurt there is another recycling project, The Dream Machine, that combines technology, recycling, rewards, and a bit of philanthropy.
The Dream Machine functions in the same manner as the recycling kiosk in Frakfurt, but instead of donating the deposit charge to charity, it gives the recycler points that can be redeemed for consumer products. The Dream Machine is an initiative by Pepsico, who pledge to donate $250,000 to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans With Disabilities for every 10 million pounds of material collected through the machines. In March 2013 after recycling 93 million plastic bottles and cans through 4,000 Dream Machines Pepsico donated $500,000 to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities program.
You can find the Frankfurt airport vending machine in Terminal 1, or a Dream Machine on this interactive map.
Did you get your free issue of the Intelligent Optimist?  Click here for a free download.