Merlin Entertainments, the UK’s largest visitor attraction operator, has today announced a partnership with Coca-Cola Great Britain, which will offer consumers 50% off entry to some of the UK’s best-known family attractions, in exchange for their used plastic bottles.
The trial scheme, which will run from 25th July, invites people to bring and recycle any 500ml plastic bottle via an on-site ‘reverse vending’ machine. Unlike traditional vending machines which dispense drinks, these machines will reward those who deposit their empty bottles with a voucher to receive 50% off entry at 30 Merlin attractions. The machines will be located at the entrances of Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures and LEGOLAND Windsor, which are included in the offer.
Sandra Hazel, Head of Force for Good at Merlin Entertainments, said: “This partnership with Coca-Cola Great Britain demonstrates our aligned ambition to use our brands as a force for good. We’re constantly looking for ways to raise awareness and help contribute to a better environment. As a responsible business and an advocate for marine conservation, we’re pleased to be joining forces with Coca-Cola to encourage people to recycle more this summer, by rewarding them with family fun.”
The new initiative comes following research by Coca-Cola Great Britain, which revealed that 64%1 of people in the UK would recycle more on-the-go if they were rewarded instantly for doing so.
Jon Woods, General Manager of Coca-Cola Great Britain, said: “We want to reward people for doing the right thing by recycling their bottles and hope to encourage some people who wouldn’t otherwise have done so. Through this exciting new trial with Merlin Entertainments we hope to remind people how valuable their empty plastic bottle is. All of our bottles can be recycled and we want to get as many of them back as possible so they can be turned into new bottles and not end up as litter. This is just one of the actions that we’re taking to play our part in achieving a World Without Waste.”
The announcement comes a year after SEA LIFE Brighton launched ‘The Loop’ project in conjunction with Coca-Cola Great Britain to encourage recycling of plastic bottles and raise awareness of marine conservation. To date the project has recycled over 11,000 bottles sold at the SEA LIFE Centre.
