Coca-Cola, known for its ubiquity, is covering all the bases on the political convention front.
It’s been named official recycler for both major party conventions, in Denver and St. Paul, even though the Democrats in Denver are holding their convention in the PEPSI CENTER.
On Thursday, Democrats announced that Coke will be the Official Recycling Provider for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, to be held Aug. 25-28 in Denver. In the Pepsi Center.
On Aug. 6, Republican announced Coca-Cola would team with Waste Management as Official Recycling Providers of the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center.
The Democrats said:
“Coca-Cola Recycling will recover and recycle all paper products, plastic bottles and aluminum cans recovered at all official Convention venues. Coca-Cola will also provide biodegradable bags, liners, and recycling bins for material recovery. Additionally, Coca-Cola will use energy-efficient coolers and vending machines to supply beverages to Convention attendees and will deliver the beverages on hybrid electric delivery trucks from the largest heavy-duty hybrid electric delivery fleet in North America.”
And they quoted John Burgess, president and chief executive officer, Coca-Cola Recycling:
“By creating opportunities for delegates, media and other Convention attendees to easily recycle their beverage containers, Coca-Cola Recycling can help to ensure that we capture the packaging for beverages consumed at the Convention. Our expertise will not only allow us to provide the infrastructure to divert materials collected at Convention venues from local landfills, but many of the recycling bins, energy-efficient coolers and hybrid electric trucks that will be used will stay in Denver, providing a sustainable and long-term solution to help keep Denver green long after the Convention is finished.”
The Republicans, with two “recycling providers” and a more ambitious “first of its kind” program, said:
“The ‘closed-loop’ recycling program will utilize a system where all of the recyclable material recovered at the Xcel Energy Center and St. Paul RiverCentre during the convention will be recycled in the Minneapolis Saint Paul Area. Recycling bins and signage will be located throughout the convention. Waste Management will collect all waste and recyclable material during the convention and take it to its facility in Minneapolis where all of the recyclable material will be sorted and baled. The polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles and aluminum cans will then be shipped back to the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Eagan, Minn., and ultimately processed by Coca-Cola into new bottles and cans. Both convention facilities sell the majority of beverages in plastic bottles. Waste Management will also be recycling all of the paper and cardboard recovered at the event.”
Carbon copies?
And, in a recycling effort all his own, the same Coca-Cola exec, John Burgess, gave virtually the same quote in the Aug. 6 Republican announcement last week as he did yesterday the Democrats, being careful to skip the name of the Denver arena, and substitute Minneaplis St. Paul for Denver:
“By creating opportunities to easily recycle, Coca-Cola Recycling can help to ensure that we capture the packaging for all of the beverages consumed at the 2008 Republican National Convention. Our expertise will not only allow us to provide the infrastructure to divert most of the materials collected at the Xcel Energy Center and Saint Paul RiverCentre from local landfills, but the recycling bins, energy-efficient coolers and hybrid electric trucks that CCE will use throughout the venues will stay in Minnesota, providing a sustainable and long-term solution to help keep Minneapolis Saint Paul green long after the Convention is finished.”
Before entering the legislature, I was the director of the Recycling Association of Minnesota. Coca Cola North America (Atlanta) and Midwest Coca-Cola (Eagan) made a sizable contribution of recycling containers for the Minneapolis Convention Center and now that building has recycled more than 100 tons of cans and bottles since 2005. They also have introduced ten hybrid diesel delivery trucks in the Twin Cities that will pay for themselves in three years. I hope that they keeping moving in that direction!