WILLEMSTAD - “The aim was to collect 30,000 bottles for recycling, and we succeeded,” Green Phenix and Coca-Cola announced via a press release on Tuesday. At the end of last year, the two companies launched a joint campaign calling on the community to recycle plastic.
According to the organizations, this "awareness campaign" under the name ‘maketheturtlesmile’ ensures that the materials are not lost and are given a new life in the form of a locally manufactured product. The organizers are therefore proud that the target of 30,000 bottles has been achieved.
During the campaign, residents of Curaçao were called upon to hand in their plastic bottles at Green Phenix in Sambil or at the Zeelandia pavilion. Every time someone turned in 25 bottles or aluminum cans, a stamp was given. Participants could save those stamps to win nice prizes.
The campaign will run until the end of the month. Participants who still want to participate can hand in their 'plastic recycling labels' with numbers 1, 2 and 5 and aluminum cans at Green Phenix Sambil (next to the Caracas Bay entrance) from Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and at Green Phenix Pavilion Zeelandia on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The first edition of ‘maketheturtlesmile’ was carried out in 2019, when 30,573 bottles were collected and the focus was mainly on students. This second edition of the campaign is more focused on individual participants.
The main goal is to make people aware that recycling is fun and that new products can be made from used materials. Because: used plastic is not waste, new products can be made from it. Meanwhile, Green Phenix and Coca-Cola are in talks to come up with a quick follow-up to this successful campaign.
More information about the campaign can be found at facebook.com/greenphenixcuracao and facebook.com/CocaColaCuracao.