Coca-Cola partners with Merlin Entertainments to encourage recycling via reverse vending machines

Merlin Entertainments, a global leader in location-based entertainment with over 140+ global attractions, announced it is partnering with Coca-Cola in a bid to help reduce plastic waste.

This summer, guests will have a chance of winning VIP experiences at some of the U.K.’s best-known family attractions in exchange for bringing an empty 500-ml plastic bottle and recycling it at one of the specifically designed reverse vending machines across U.K. attractions.

Since the launch of the initiative in 2019, Merlin has collected and recycled over 100,000 plastic bottles through specifically designed Coca-Cola reverse vending machines and is now offering guests the chance to be part of the action and enter between July 1 and September 30, 2023. 

This year, the campaign now includes 28 reverse vending machines, which will be on site at 11 participating Merlin Entertainments attractions, including Alton Towers Resort, LEGOLAND Windsor Resort, THORPE PARK Resort, Chessington World of Adventures Resort, Warwick Castle, SEA LIFE aquariums in Blackpool, Birmingham, Brighton and London, The Blackpool Tower and LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Birmingham.

By recycling one 500-ml drink, families will get the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime prizes in exchange for helping Coca-Cola on its mission to collect and recycle a bottle for every one it sells by 2030. The partnership with Merlin Entertainments builds on Coca-Cola’s sustainable packaging strategy, which now includes 100% recycled PET plastic bottles, which are infinitely recyclable.

The innovative vending machines will have bespoke branding for each of the prizes, and four extra machines have been installed across a number of attractions since last year to make them easy to find. Machines can also be found by asking a member of the attraction’s team or using the individual attraction’s app, guiding people through the parks to recycle their bottles and enter the VIP competition via a website printed on the receipt after recycling.

The announcement is the latest in a series of actions from Coca-Cola Great Britain to encourage people to recycle. As part of its global goal, Coca-Cola aims to help collect and recycle a bottle or can for each one it sells by 2030.

Elodie Peribere, marketing director at Coca-Cola Great Britain, said in the announcement: “This summer, reverse vending machines will be located across Merlin attractions which will enable guests to recycle their plastic bottles to ensure they can be used again as well as giving people the chance to win some amazing VIP experiences. We share Merlin’s passion for entertainment and goals for sustainability: all of our bottles are 100% recyclable, and this year we added attached caps across our portfolio to make it easier for people to recycle the whole package and help reduce littering.”