In continuation of the ‘Give Back Life’ – PET Recycling initiative, Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Limited launched a programme on PET Recycling among the staff of the Coca Cola plant in Biyagama on Friday. The programme also included the residents of the area surrounding the plant as Coca-Cola’s incentive to celebrate World Environment Day on June 5.

The Awareness Programme encompassed three different segments. The first centred on educating the employees on the need to recycle PET and engaging them in a PET Challenge, whereby they collected PET bottles from the surrounding areas. On their return to the plant they built a creative sculpture using the collected PET. The three most effective PET sculptures were selected based on their creativity and the message their sculpture aimed to convey and the winning team members were duly rewarded.

The second segment of the programme focussed on creating awareness among the residents of the area and motivating them to contribute to the cause of recycling PET. With this idea in mind, the residents who had been already informed about this project via banners, posters and leaflets, were required to hand over PET bottles to the teams from Coca-Cola who visited their homes on Environment Day. All residents who took part in this initiative were rewarded by Coca-Cola, depending on the number of bottles they handed over. The programme also concentrated on two schools in the area where the students and staff had been informed of Coca-Cola’s initiative to celebrate World Environment Day. The students of the respective schools were requested to bring in PET bottles as a sign of support to the effort and the class that brought in the most number of PET bottles from each school was rewarded by Coke.

In addition to the above mentioned efforts Coca-Cola also sought the participation and collaboration of the Central Environment Authority, the Local Government Authority, Medical Officers of Health of the Biyagama area and the Public Health Inspectors of the Biyagama area for this effort. Members of these organisations accompanied the Coke teams on their PET collecting rounds. A representative from the PET Division of the Central Environment Authority also addressed the staff and other participants of the programme in order to educate and create awareness on the need to recycle PET.

In a more far reaching exercise, Coca-Cola collected PET bottles from the IDP Camps in the North and East of the country. The IDP centres which accommodate over 200,000 people currently, are supplied with bottled water on a daily basis and require an effective mechanism of waste management. Hence, Coca-Cola volunteered to collect and recycle the PET bottles used in the centres in order to contribute in the management of the disposal of PET waste in the area. The collection truck brought in the collected PET bottles from the IDP camps to the Coca Cola plant in Biyagama, on the 5th of June to coinciding with the celebration of World Environment Day.

Mr. Patrick Pech, Country Manager, Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Limited stated that "the launch of this programme at the plant in Biyagama is symbolic of Coca-Cola’s efforts to spread the awareness among our own staff and gain their support and coorporation for the ‘Give Back Life’ initiative. In conjunction with this year’s theme for World Environment Day ‘Your planet needs you – UNite to combat climate change’ Coca-Cola too, initiated this awareness programme to enhance and increase the trend of environment friendliness among its staff. Through the introduction of this programme in the Biyagama plant, we hope to make recycling a committed practice among our staff and emphasise the trend of effective waste management in the Biyagama area" he concluded.

Commenting on the activity, Manish Chaturvedi, Country Manager Sri Lanka and Maldives, Coca-Cola Far East stated that in conjunction with World Environment Day, Coca-Cola decided to extend the ‘Give Back Life’ recycling initiative to its staff as well as the neighbours around the plant. "Through the launch of this programme to our staff we endow them with the responsibility of spreading the ‘Give Back Life’ message and becoming ambassadors of this cause. Coca Cola Sri Lanka plans to use this exercise as a launching pad to spread its ‘Give Back Life’ initiative to the public at large in order to truly commit itself to the success of this laudable drive. Coca-Cola as a brand has committed itself to PET recycling in all areas of the country and this is yet another initiative that endorses the brand’s commitment towards a greener Sri Lanka" he concluded.