Coca-Cola and Merlin extend plastic bottle recycling campaign

Coca-Cola has renewed its partnership with Merlin Entertainments for a fifth consecutive year, encouraging visitors to recycle empty plastic bottles in exchange for the chance to win VIP experiences at attractions across the UK.

The campaign invites guests to deposit an empty 500ml plastic drinks bottle into one of 30 reverse vending machines installed at participating Merlin attractions between 1 July and 9 September 2026. After recycling, visitors receive a receipt containing details of how to enter a prize draw for a range of exclusive experiences.

According to the partners, the initiative has collected hundreds of thousands of plastic bottles since it was introduced. Reverse vending machine use also continued to increase over the past year, with transactions rising by 18% between 2024 and 2025 to almost 30,000 uses during 2025.

New experiences have been added for the 2026 campaign, including behind-the-scenes tours of SAW: The Ride, The Walking Dead: The Ride and Ghost Train at Thorpe Park, as well as Fast Track access to Bluey the Ride: Here Come the Grannies! at Alton Towers Resort. These join a wider range of returning prizes available across participating Merlin attractions.

Additional rewards include experiences such as Giraffe Encounter at Chessington World of Adventures Resort, Snorkelling with Sharks at SEA LIFE Blackpool, and behind-the-scenes tours at Warwick Castle.

Building on our partnership with Merlin, we’re introducing even more exciting rewards through our RVM initiative. By linking recycling to memorable experience, we’re helping make it easier and more engaging for people to recycle their plastic bottles.

Partnerships like this play an important role in ensuring more bottles are collected and kept within the circular economy, rather than ending up as waste.

Jo Padwick, Senior Sustainability Manager at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

The campaign is taking place across ten Merlin attractions, including Alton Towers Resort, Cadbury World, Chessington World of Adventures Resort, LEGOLAND Windsor Resort, SEA LIFE centres in Blackpool, Birmingham, Brighton and London, Thorpe Park, and Warwick Castle.

Visitors can locate reverse vending machines by using the relevant attraction's mobile app or by asking members of staff. After depositing an eligible bottle, entrants are directed via information printed on their receipt to complete their competition entry online.