You Can Now Get Half-Price Tickets to Theme Parks in the UK Just By Recycling Plastic Bottles!

In the U.K., the entry fee for some of the most popular theme parks will now be cheaper if you come with … some empty plastic bottles. Theme park operator, Merlin, and Coca-Cola have teamed up to launch a trial run of a new system which allows the visitors to get half-price entry in exchange for used plastic bottles that will then be recycled. The offer is designed to encourage guests to make sure their bottles end up where they are supposed to – and encourage people who would not normally recycle their plastics to get on the bandwagon.

According to the Guardian, a number of “reverse recycling machines” were installed by the entrances to Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures, and Legoland on July 25, 2018. All you have to do to get a half-price ticket voucher is deposit a 500-milliliter plastic bottle at any of the 30 Merlin attractions in the country. The scheme will run until mid-October.

The initiative follows Coca-Cola’s research which showed that 64 percent of people in Great Britain would recycle more if it would involve an instant reward.

“We want to reward people for doing the right thing by recycling their bottles and hope to encourage some people who wouldn’t otherwise have done so,” said Jon Woods, General Manager of Coca-Cola UK and Ireland. “All of our bottles can be recycled and we want to get as many of them back as possible so they can be turned into new bottles and not end up as litter.”

Only 43 percent of the 13 billion plastic bottles sold every year in the U.K. are recycled, so there is a huge opportunity to boost consumer efforts to properly dispose of plastics. Earlier this year, the environment secretary, Michael Gove announced plans to start a mandatory deposit system for bottles and cans in the country, but the details have not yet been revealed.

It is estimated that some 85 percent of the plastic we throw away globally is not recycled, which is why there is little surprise that over 8.8 million tons of plastic waste entersthe oceans every year. Reducing and recycling plastic trash may seem like a minuscule effort considering those figures, but small adjustments we make in our lives as individuals add up to create the change. To find out how you can help, check out One Green Planet’s #CrushPlastic campaign!

Image source: 901263/Pixabay