- Kenneth Hein

The plastic bottle that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama drank out of at the Democratic National Convention might very well become your plastic bottle.

Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coke’s largest bottler, is attempting to recycle 100% materials sold and consumed at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.

This is latest “closed loop” event created Coca-Cola Recycling, a division of CCE. “We’ve been testing the waters with a lot of different events in ever increasing scale and size. This is the biggest,” said John Burgess, CEO, Coca-Cola Recycling, Atlanta, which was formed at the beginning of last year.

Amid the throngs of people on hand to watch Sen. Edward Kennedy and Michelle Obama deliver their rousing speeches last night (Aug. 25), were hundreds of CCE volunteers collecting bottles and cans from bins that read “Give it Back.” The discarded packaging will be recycled locally using new water and energy efficient “gel lubes” technology that more efficiently move the bottles and cans along the process. CCE has more than 35 recycling centers throughout its North American facilities.

Hybrid electric delivery trucks, which reduce emissions by 37%, were used to deliver its products. There will be plenty Coke Zero, Vitaminwater and other products on hand. Coke is planning on creating the biggest sampling effort in Invesco Field’s history for Obama’s acceptance speech. A similar activation is planned for Sen. John McCain's acceptance speech at the RNC next week.

The conventions “are a wonderful opportunity to reach a knowledgeable consumer group to let them know what we are doing as a system,” said Burgess.

Coca-Cola Recycling has a multi-media trailer for the events in which staffers can answer questions about the company’s efforts and explain its plans for the future. For one, CCE is opening the largest bottle-to-bottle PET processing center in North Carolina this November. It is costing the company $50 million to build it. CCE has also reduced its system’s water usage by 3%.

Burgess said, "This is going to be two weeks of recycling bliss.”