Sonisphere’s glam rockers go green with new recycling scheme
Friday, July 30, 2010
Friday 30 July 2010: This weekend volunteers from drinks manufacturer Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) and youth volunteering organisation vinspired are making recycling rock as festival goers make the most of Sonisphere festival in Knebworth.
Following on from their attendance at the Isle of Wight Festival earlier this summer, keen volunteers from CCE and vinspired will be running a 'Swap for Swag Shop' in the Coca-Cola Recycle Garden, a space where rockers will be able to swap plastic bottles for limited edition festival essentials made out of recycled PET.1
Throughout the weekend, festival goers will be able to watch the Coca-Cola Recycle Garden grow as the bottles they swap for swag are crushed into bales and made into useable tables and chairs - a space to take a chill out moment from the moshpit. Plus, to make sure recycling is always the easy and accessible option, there will also be 28 recycling points dotted around the Sonisphere site for people to drop their cans and bottles into.
As well as getting down and dirty with recycling, the CCE and vinspired volunteers will be talking to festival goers to ramp up enthusiasm for recycling and giving out bags to encourage people to collect empty bottles and swap them for limited edition swag at the Swap Shop.
Up for grabs will be festival essentials like rain ponchos, torches and (a rare site at festivals) clean T-shirts. Here's a list of what festival goers can Swap for Swag:
- 5 bottles for 1 poncho
- 10 bottles for 1 torch
- 10 bottles for 1 neck tote
- 15 bottles for 1 cap
- 20 bottles for 1 T-shirt
CCE's presence at Sonisphere comes as part of its Keep It Going programme which, in partnership with Recoup and WRAP, has set up recycling points in public spaces across the UK. Over 60 permanent recycling zones are currently in place, helping people recycle on the go in shopping centres, hospitals, theme parks and transport hubs.
CCE aims to give all PET plastic bottles a second life - to take this plastic back, wash it, break it down and turn it into new PET bottles for the next round of festivities. By 2012 Coca-Cola Enterprises aims to have 25% recycled PET in every plastic bottle it sells in Great Britain.
Coca-Cola Enterprises Recycling Director, Patrick McGuirk said: "Coca-Cola Enterprises is committed to making recycling easier and fun. Over the summer we've been working at various festivals and events. We're excited about engaging rockers at Sonisphere with our very cool 'Swap for Swag' shop and encouraging them to rock 'n' recycle.
It's not just about recycling at the festival, it's about inspiring people to recycle every bottle and can, every day. We want to show people what a difference recycling can make and the festival environment is a great place to spread this sustainability message."
The Recycle Garden is being rolled out across various festivals and events throughout the summer including Sonisphere, V Festival, Bloodstock and Creamfields.
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Notes to editors
[1] PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) is a recyclable plastic that is commonly used for carbonated beverage and water bottles.
For more information contact: Elisabeth Middlemas or Kate Ward at Coca-Cola Enterprises press office Tel: 020 7009 3802 Email: elisabeth.middlemas@3-monkeys.co.uk or kate.ward@3-monkeys.co.uk
About Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) is a UK based subsidiary of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc, the world's largest marketer, producer and distributor of The Coca-Cola Company's (TCCC) products.
CCE manufactures and distributes products for TCCC as well as products for other brand-owners, throughout England, Scotland and Wales, employing around 4,500 people in Great Britain across seven manufacturing sites and a number of regional offices and depots.
CCE is committed to minimising the environmental impact of its products and operations, with a particular focus on sustainable packaging, water stewardship, and energy and climate protection.
About vinspired v, the national young volunteers service, is an independent charity dedicated to helping young people volunteer in ways that matter to them. www.vinspired.com
About Recoup Recoup are a plastics recycling consultancy based in Peterborough. For over 20 years, Recoup has been a key player in the recycling of plastics, through setting up schemes to collect plastics to producing guidance documentation around the recyclabililty of plastic packaging. www.recoup.org
