This weekend, Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages and Keep Texas Beautiful are teaming up to help Texans become better recyclers. Dubbed the “Weekend Without Waste,” events are being held statewide during the weekend of October 5 to educate as many Texans as possible on what, how, and where to recycle.

The “Weekend Without Waste” is part of the Coca-Cola Company’s “World Without Waste” initiative, an industry-first goal to collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can it sells globally by 2030. The company and bottling partners like Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages are tackling the ambitious goal through a renewed focus on the entire packaging lifecycle – from how bottles and cans are designed and made, to how they’re recycled and repurposed.

2018 partners of the “Weekend Without Waste” include the Houston Texans, San Antonio Spurs, San Antonio ISD, EarthX, Keep Houston Beautiful, OU Club of Dallas, UTRGV HESTEC, Dallas Texas Exes and Waste Management of Texas.

 On a daily basis, more than 100 million Americans participate in recycling used and old materials at work and home. Public events, however, present a unique recycling challenge. Through education and hands-on collection efforts, we can ensure that more of the material will end up in recycling rather than in landfills.

The “Weekend without Waste” takes place October 5-7, 2018, when many of the Lone Star State’s high school, college and professional sports teams are in action. Over a three-day period, volunteers will be recycling during major events in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and Edinburg, reaching nearly half a million Texans in the process. 2018 partners of the “Weekend Without Waste” include the Houston Texans, San Antonio ISD, San Antonio Spurs, State Fair of Texas, Keep Dallas Beautiful, Keep Houston Beautiful, OU Club of Dallas, UT HESTEC, Texas Exes and Waste Management-Houston.

In addition to recycling at major events throughout the state, Coca-Cola is introducing its Recycle & Give machines, the first time the machines have been used in Texas. These one-of-a-kind machines will enable Fairgoers to donate .5 for every recycled bottle and can to Texas Exes and OU Club of Dallas student scholarships. The Recycle & Give machines will be located near Gate G at the Cotton Bowl, in Nimitz Circle, throughout the Weekend Without Waste.

 2018 “World Without Waste” events include:

Friday, Oct. 5

• in San Antonio at Alamo Stadium volunteers will be recycling during the Jefferson High School vs Burbank High School game

Saturday, Oct. 6,

• in Dallas at the State Fair of Texas, volunteers will be recycling at the Texas Exes tailgate party
• in Edinburg, volunteers will be recycling for more than 15,000 attendees of the UT HESTEC Community Day

Sunday, Oct. 7

• in Houston prior to the Houston Texans/Dallas Cowboys, volunteers will be recycling for more than 10,000 tailgaters in the Yellow Lot outside NRG Stadium
• in San Antonio, volunteers will be hosting a Zero Waste Zone for fans during the San Antonio Spurs/Houston Rockets game, working to collect every bottle and can in one section of AT&T Center

​Blog post written by Greg Artkop, Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages. ​