Recycling Vending Machine

Ri-dog

I'm building a vending type machine and I need some help figuring out were to start. What it will do is take in some plastic and money and then spit out some sort of small statue or maybe a Frisbee or something. I need some advice on where to start. What kind of micro controller should I use? Where do I even find the specialized equipment for the money management in the machine itself?
Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.