Coke Recycles The Past In A Precious Metal Masterpiece
Coca-Cola GB unveils the world's biggest recycled artwork to mark Recycle Week
A spectacular 50m artwork made solely from used aluminium cans has been unveiled on top of the chalk cliffs of the Sussex coastline to mark the beginning of Recycle Week (22-28 June 2009).
Watch the video footage by clicking here.
Transforming thousands of used aluminium collected from around Great Britain into the world's largest recycled artwork - dubbed Precious Metal - has taken a team of artists a week to complete and can only be fully viewed from the air. The artwork - inspired by a classic 1949 summer poster from The Coca-Cola Company archives of a swimsuit-clad lady relaxing in the sun - is designed to inspire consumers to recycle more this summer through reminding them of the inherent value of empty cans and bottles.
Recycling aluminium is 20 times more energy-efficient than making it from scratch1. At the end of Recycle Week each of the 200,000 cans will be recycled saving enough energy to keep a television running for seventy years2.
Liz Lowe, Citizenship Manager at Coca-Cola Great Britain, said: "Old cans aren't just waste, they're precious metal. They can live forever through recycling, to be used time and time again to make a whole number of new things saving huge amounts of energy and raw materials.
"With this simple message want to inspire people to think twice about binning their empty bottles and cans...an empty drinks can that you recycle today could be back on the shelf as a brand new one in just six weeks3."
Coca-Cola is working with WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) to install Recycle Zones around the UK to help make it easier for people to recycle their cans and bottles when they're out and about - in places like shopping centres, theme parks, airports, university campuses and at outdoor events. Launched a year ago, there are now 20 active Recycle Zones with another 60 on the way before 2011. Already over 20 tonnes of recycled materials have been collected through Recycle Zones' bins.
Laura Underwood, spokesperson for WRAP said "Protecting the environment is one of the biggest challenges facing all of us and the scale of this artwork represents the size of the issue. We hope that Coca-Cola's piece will inspire consumers to recycle more - not just during Recycle Week - but into the future."
The Precious Metal project is the latest in a series of Coke initiatives to remind consumers of the benefits of recycling soft drink cans and bottles by illustrating that packaging is not just waste, but can have a second life through recycling.
Tom Gribbin, Senior Campaign Manager, Together said: "Coca-Cola's ambition to make it easier for us to recycle while we're out and about is good news for the environment. By illustrating the wonderful things that can be made from used aluminium cans, Coca-Cola can use its power as a brand to help us all see the benefits of this simple behaviour. Help and inspiration on recycling is also a compelling contribution from Coca-Cola to the Together campaign's growing list of easy things everyone can do to fight climate change."
Coca-Cola has teamed up with WRAP's Recycle Now campaign to encourage us to all do a little more to recycle this week. To pledge to do more go to www.cokezone.co.uk/recyclenow where you also have the chance to win a bespoke recycled sculpture from Robert Bradford, the lead artist behind this unique project.
To find out more about recycling, consumers should visit www.recyclenow.co.uk.
Picture: A spectacular 50m artwork made solely from used aluminium cans has been unveiled on top of the chalk cliffs of the Sussex coastline to mark the beginning of Recycle Week (22-28 June 2009).
Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5usjG4Ng0h4
Coca-Cola converastions are talking about it...
http://www.coca-colaconversations.com/
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For press information and interviews with project collaborators, please contact:
Christie Palmer on 020 7907 7200/ christie.palmer@exposure.net or Annalisa Hoadley on 020 7907 7155 / Annalisa@exposure.net
NOTES TO EDITORS:
THE WORLD'S LARGEST RECYCLED ARTWORK:
The following specialists were commissioned by Coca-Cola to design and create Precious Metal
- Robert Bradford - Lead Artist
- Paul Cross - Production Designer
- Jason Hawkes - Aerial Photography Specialist
- Norfolk Environmental Waste Services - provider of cans and final recycling destination
- Thanks to Recoup, alupro, Recycle Now and Together
Images of the artwork and film footage of the installation available on request.
The original 1949 Haddon Sundblom billboard design available on request.
Recycle Zones
There are currently 20 live Recycle Zones in GB including Manchester Airport, Thorpe Park, Legoland, Chessington World of Adventures, Festival Place shopping centre, Warwick University, West Quay shopping centre. Successful pilots have taken place with National Express on the East Coast rail line and at the Epsom Derby and South of England Show. Since its inception in August 2007, the sites have saved approximately 20 tonnes of aluminium, plastic, paper and glass from landfill. Recycle Zone is part funded by WRAP and has an objective to launch 80 sites by the end of 2011. Coca-Cola GB is also working with Local Authorities to develop Recycle Zones for the high street.
- To find out more about Coca-Cola's sustainability strategy and actions, visit www.cokecorporateresponsibility.co.uk
- To view a short film about Coca-Cola GB's approach to recycling, visit www.letsgettogether.co.uk/GetTogether/Home
Footnotes
- See Recycling Fact #1
- See Recycling Fact #2
- See Recycling Fact #3
WRAP
WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) helps individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change. For more information go to www.wrap.org.uk.
TOGETHER
Coca-Cola is a member of Together - the UK's leading climate change campaign - which provides practical steps to make it easier and cheaper for people to tackle climate change in their everyday lives. The campaign is delivered by a unique collaboration between business, government and civil society and facilitated by independent NGO The Climate Group. For more information go to www.together.com.
RECYCLING FACTS & STATS
1. Recycling aluminium requires only 5% of the energy it takes to make new aluminium - and produces only 5% of the CO2 emissions. [source:alupro.org.uk]
2. The energy saved by recycling a single aluminium drink can is enough to run a television for three hours. Recycling 200,000 cans will save enough energy to run a television for 600,000 hours or 68 years [source:alupro.org.uk]
3. An aluminium can given for recycling today can be made into a new can, filled and be back on the shelves in just six weeks. [source:alupro.org.uk]
4. The recycling rate for aluminium cans in GB is just 52%. This means £36 million worth of aluminium drinks cans are thrown away each year. [source:alupro.org.uk]
5. Recycling one tonne of aluminium saves the same amount of CO2 as taking a small car off the road for a year. [source:alupro.org.uk]
6. Aluminium is the earth's second most used metal [source: Waste Watch]
7. In the UK, 80% of all drinks cans are made of aluminium. [source: Waste Watch]
8. If everyone in GB recycled just one more aluminium can during Recycle Week it would be like taking 2000 cars off the road for a year. [source: WRAP, Recycle Now]
