Coca-Cola and World Trade Centre “Give Back Life” to 23,000 PET bottles in recycled Christmas décor

In keeping with its much-loved tradition to make the Christmas season a special one the world over, Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd.  and the World Trade Centre (WTC) dove into the festivities, but this year with the impactful message of being environmentally conscious and reducing waste. In a unique display of Christmas cheer, colourful, vibrant, upcycled Christmas trees and wreaths made from the recycling of Coca-Cola’s PET bottles adorn the World Trade Centre, Colombo. Coca-Cola provided 23,000 PET bottles towards the handmade Christmas décor by MAIC, commissioned by the WTC. Visitors to the busy offices of WTC will be treated to this wondrous celebration of Christmas with an environmentally conscious core.

This collaboration between WTC, MAIC and Coca-Cola is yet another initiative through Coca-Cola’s ‘Give Back Life’ (it’s campaign in PET collection, recycling and waste management). A creative reimagining of empty PET bottles, which otherwise would in day-to-day life end up in garbage dump sites. PET bottles are 100% recyclable (i.e. identified with the number 1 inside the recycling logo) and tend to be used for packaging of beverages, toiletries and cooking items in Sri Lanka. Coca-Cola’s ‘Give Back Life’ drives awareness of individual responsibility of waste disposal and recycling, and champions the importance of community-led, sustainable initiatives in post-consumed PET recovery, recycling and waste management practices through its principle of Extended Producer Responsibility. Coca-Cola has successfully led large-scale PET clean-up drives through community-led volunteerism during the Kataragama Festival and the Marine Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA) National Coastal and Marine Resources Conservation Week.

Charith De Silva – co-founder, MAIC (concept design house) said of the project, “At MAIC, we are about bringing ideas into décor, and with this piece it was the timeliness and environmental impact which resonated. Coca-Cola’s “Give Back Life” campaign in PET recovery and recycling gave context to this collaboration – providing us with the PET bottles and the décor will be reused and any unutilized PET bottles will be recycled through Coca-Cola’s recycler. Nearly all of the volume was Coca-Cola’s PET bottles, but some personal contributions were taken and we reached out through social media, paralleling to Coca Cola’s approach to its community-led initiatives in PET recovery and recycling.”

Kumi Miranda – Manager Marketing & Leasing, WTC said, “This collaboration is an extension of our continuous efforts in conserving the environment.  At WTC, we are always being innovative and working towards energy efficiency and sustainable growth. We have won numerous awards in this arena. This is a visual manifestation of our ideology, and we could not think of a better way of projecting it than in the vibrancy of this beautiful and impactful Christmas theme.”

Lakshan Madurasinghe – Public Affairs & Communication Manager, Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd. said, “This is a visually stunning and unique example of the wide range of partnerships that can be founded on maximising the use of PET bottles through recovery and recycling. We are thrilled by the leadership taken by the WTC to use PET waste at the core of their Christmas celebration. At Coca-Cola, we champion such sustainable, best practices and this surely will motivate others to do more towards responsibly disposing waste and ensuring all PET bottles are recycled, considering they are 100% recyclable. This one-of-a-kind display of Christmas spirit, motivates us all to give back more in our daily lives. It’s with pride, we can see how innovative collaboration leads to far-reaching environmental impact”.