SriLankan Airlines and Coca-Cola to ‘Give Back Life’ to PET bottles

SriLankan Airlines launched a project in partnership with Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd to recycle used PET plastic bottles. It is their latest endeavour to promote sustainable living and raise public awareness of the need for environmental conservation through the concept of ‘reduce-reuse-recycle’.

This initiative for PET bottle collection at SriLankan Airlines will drive staff mobilization and will maximize the existing waste management infrastructure within the company. In addition, this practical and convenient waste management solution is intended to inspire the airline’s staff toward a habit of responsible disposal of PET plastics which would otherwise find their way to landfills, burnt openly, or pollute our precious oceans.

This initiative is also part of Coca-Cola’s ‘Give Back Life’ programme that is dedicated to the collection and recycling of PET plastic bottles across the nation. As a socially responsible organization, SriLankan Airlines joined hands with Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd. to make a commitment to finding improved solutions to recover PET, recycle PET and to remind the public that PET bottles are 100% recyclable.

“This fruitful partnership with Coca-Cola will support the recovery and recycling of useful materials from otherwise discarded PET bottles and reduce the impact on the environment while providing a sustainable solution”, stated Dhanushka de Silva, Environment Compliance & Planning Manager for SriLankan Airlines Ltd.

Initially three collection bins are being deployed in places that have the potential to achieve high volumes of PET plastics recovery. The collection will be sent to the recycling partner, Eco Spindles Pvt. Ltd. PET bottle products are found as water bottles, soft drink bottles, cooking oil containers, beauty care products, etc. Most importantly these can be recycled into many other products besides bottles, including brushes, brooms, shoes, and yarn.

Commenting on the partnership, Lakshan Madurasinghe, Director for Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability of Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd. stated: “We are very excited to join hands with SriLankan Airlines and inspire thousands of their associates and stakeholders to bring PET plastic bottles for disposal to the ‘Give Back Life’ collection bins located at their premises. A key objective of this partnership is to recover PET bottles for recycling from the homes and communities of the SriLankan Airlines staff and provide an excellent opportunity to make a difference in conserving our environment.”

As a conservation minded airline, SriLankan has regularly supported fruitful partnerships to conserve the environment, including its Passenger Carbon Offset programme ‘flygreen’ together with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the ‘United for Wildlife’ initiative by The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to crackdown on global illegal wildlife trade.