Coca-Cola marks five years of PET Collection and Recycling Project

Launches next phase of ‘Give Back Life’ project with new initiative in Biyagama

Coca-Cola announced the launch of the next phase of its PET collection and recycling project, a part of its ongoing community development and environmental conservation campaign ‘Give Back Life’.

Launched in 2008, the ‘Give Back Life’ project has been responsible for the collection and recycling of over nine tons of PET plastics. This year, Coca-Cola is celebrating the fifth year of this groundbreaking project by launching a community based PET collection program across 28 schools in Biyagama.

Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Limited, in partnership with the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), the Biyagama Education Division and Kalhari Enterprises, is taking the mission one step further by taking steps to conserve the environment, by inculcating the habit of recycling among school children.

The program involves children from participating schools collecting PET plastics and on the last Thursday of every month, designated as ‘PET Day,’ Kalhari Enterprises will visit the schools to collect the accumulated PET waste. Coca-Cola will provide PET Day collection bins, date calendars and stickers to the participating schools.  

As an added incentive, Kalhari will pay Rs. 30 per kilo of PET collected. This money will be credited directly to the schools’ development fund on a quarterly basis and will be used to fund school development activities and student welfare projects.

The first PET Day collection bin was handed over to Deputy Minister of Disaster Management Duleep Wijesekara and Sapugaskanda Vishaka Balika Vidyalaya Principal Priyanthi Samaraweera. Present on the occasion were Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Limited Country Human Resource Manager Nilanthi Jayatillake, with Divisional Director of Education for the Biyagama Education Division K.K. Renuka P. Edirisinghe, and school principals of the Biyagama Education Division.

Speaking at the event, Jayatillake said: “Coca-Cola believes in giving back to the communities in which we operate. The PET recycling project ‘Give Back Life’ was designed to manage the growing quantity of PET bottle waste in Sri Lanka. Over the last five years we have seen the project grow from strength to strength and we thank our friends in the CEA for their dedication and support. This project in Biyagama marks a new goal for us – the inclusion and empowerment of school children, and having worked with the people of Biyagama over the last couple of years we are confident that the PET Day school development project will be a resounding success.”

Jayatillake also thanked project partner Kalhari Enterprises “Our partnership with Kalhari is based on professional trust and two common goals – save our environment and empower the younger generation. We salute the enthusiasm with which they have embraced this project.”

Coca-Cola is focused on sustainability and undertakes many projects in various parts of Sri Lanka to provide flood relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation programs to the people of the area. Last year, the company organised an inter-school PET collection competition with Sir Rob Swan, OBE- a Polar explorer, motivational speaker and environmental leader who was in Sri Lanka to support Coca Cola’s sustainability initiatives.