• Coca‑Cola and Merlin Entertainments are offering the chance to win VIP experiences to some of the UK’s best-known attractions in exchange for empty plastic bottles
• The partnership is designed to incentivise and encourage recycling on-the-go via reverse vending machines situated at the attractions
• A newly added recycling page on the resort apps will help people find the machines during their visit to the family favourite locations, including Alton Towers Resort, LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort and Chessington World of Adventures Resort

14th July 2022, London: 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 simply bringing along an empty 500ml plastic bottle and recycling it at one of the specifically designed reverse vending machines across Merlin Entertainments attractions. 

With prizes including 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 – lucky winners will be able to get up-close to marine and animal life in exchange for helping Coca‑Cola on its mission to collect and recycle every bottle it produces. 

Offering visitors the chance to be part of the action and enter between the 14th July and 30th September 2022, the reverse vending machines will be on site at 9 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 innovative 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: “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, said: “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.”

The announcement is the latest in a series of actions from Coca‑Cola Great Britain to ensure its packaging is as sustainable as possible and to encourage people to recycle. As part of its global goal, Coca‑Cola aims to collect and recycle a bottle or can for every one it sells by 2030. 

For more information about the reverse vending machines please www.coca-cola.co.uk/Merlin

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Notes to Editors:

For competition Terms & Conditions, please visit: www.funcountdown.com/coke/terms

About Coca‑Cola Great Britain:

Coca‑Cola Great Britain is responsible for marketing 20 brands and over 80 products to consumers across Great Britain. Led by Coca‑Cola, one of the world's most valuable and recognisable brands, our company portfolio includes Fanta, Sprite, Dr Pepper, Oasis, glaceau vitaminwater, glaceau smartwater, Schweppes, Lilt, and Powerade. The Company is committed to a World Without Waste. All of its packaging is 100 per cent recyclable and it has a global goal to collect and recycle every one of its bottles or cans by 2030.

For more information, visit Coca‑Cola GB Journey at https://www.coca-cola.co.uk or follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/CocaCola_GB

About Merlin Entertainments:

Merlin Entertainments is a global leader in location-based, family entertainment. As Europe's Number 1 and the world's second-largest visitor attraction operator, Merlin operates over 140 attractions, 23 hotels and 6 holiday villages in 24 countries and across 4 continents. Merlin’s purpose is to deliver memorable experiences to its millions of guests around the world, through its iconic brands and multiple attraction formats, and the commitment and passion of its employees.  

Visit www.merlinentertainments.biz for more information and follow on Twitter @MerlinEntsNews.