This summer, thrill seekers can be in with a chance of winning VIP marine and animal conservation experiences at some of the UK’s best-known family attractions in exchange for bringing along an empty 500ml plastic bottle, and recycling it at one of the specifically designed reverse vending machines across Merlin Entertainments attractions.
Prizes include a family VIP behind the scenes tour of the SEA LIFE TRUST Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Cornwall, a shark dive at the Bear Grylls Adventure in connection with the Shark Trust, a VIP White Rhino Encounter at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in connection with the Chessington Conservation Fund and a Green Sea Turtle feed plus VIP Tour of SEA LIFE Manchester.
Between July 14 and September 30, visitors will have the chance to be part of the action. The reverse vending machines will be on site at nine participating Merlin Entertainments attractions, including Alton Towers Resort, LEGOLAND Windsor Resort, THORPE PARK Resort, Chessington World of Adventures Resort, Warwick Castle Resort, SEA LIFE aquariums in Blackpool, Brighton and London, and LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Birmingham. The location of the machines can be found by asking a member of the attraction’s team or on the individual attraction apps, guiding people through the parks to recycle their bottles.
The partnership continues Coca-Cola’s ongoing relationship with Merlin Entertainments, which has seen over 100,000 plastic bottles collected via the reverse vending machines to date.
Louise Maugest, marketing director at Coca-Cola Great Britain, said: “The summer months are a special time for friends and families to get together and we’re excited to offer people the chance to win some amazing experiences whilst rewarding them for recycling on the go whilst at Merlin attractions. All of our bottles are 100% recyclable, and our partnership is just one of the actions we’re taking to achieve our ambition of a World Without Waste.”
Dare Ilori, Merlin’s Group head of sustainability, added: “Sustainability is core to our operations at Merlin Entertainments and we are excited to partner again with Coca-Cola Great Britain on this initiative. We are continuing to progress against our sustainability ambitions, including removing unnecessary packaging and plastic on all our branded merchandise. In our SEA LIFE attractions, we banned all plastic straws and retail plastic bags at the end of 2018, and in our UK Resort Theme Parks we are proud to now be operating with zero waste to landfill. We know that there is much more we can do though, and that we have a role to play in enabling and encouraging consumers to reduce, return and recycle their plastic. This is why partnering with companies such as Coca-Cola is so important, and today’s announcement is a fantastic example of Merlin working with like-minded business partners to help protect our planet for the future.”
