By the end of outdoor festivals, it isn’t uncommon to see pop bottles littered across parks and parking lots. For those who want to recycle, it’s sometimes hard to find a blue bin that isn’t overflowing, if you can find one at all.
Coca-Cola Canada says it wants to help reduce waste and recover more recyclables at festivals throughout Ontario, which is why the cola maker is partnering with the Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO) and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.
Coca-Cola has donated $100,000 to a new project that includes an online “Zero Waste Toolkit” designed to help festival organizers reduce waste and offer recycling options to attendees.
When the toolkit becomes available in 2012, it will form the basis for a new certification program to help festivals measure and verify their recycling results.
In a release, Jo-Anne St. Godard, executive director at RCO Ontario, said eating and drinking are a big part of the more than 5,000 festivals the province hosts each year.
This latest announcement is one of several environmental-focused initiatives from the cola maker. As part of its “Give it Back” program that launched in 2009, Coca-Cola provided 186 re-purposed syrup barrels to collect recycling at this year’s Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto. Last year’s effort diverted over 50 metric tonnes of beverage containers from landfill to recycling during an 18-day event.
“Recycling matters to Ontarians, and it’s great to be working with partners who are as committed to sustainability as we are,” said Fran Mulhern, vice-president central Canada sales unit, Coca-Cola Refreshments Canada, in a release.
“We know that we can do more working with others than we can on our own, especially when it comes to our recycling efforts, and we are proud to be working with both the CNE and the Recycling Council of Ontario on these important initiatives,” said Mulhern.
