There are 15 million locals in Dhaka, Bangladesh and recycling rates are very low. When 15 million people in one area don’t recycle, everyone’s wellbeing is jeopardised – the environment’s most of all.
“Open dumping, the most prevalent waste disposal method in many countries, can lead to acute health impacts for those living closest to dumping sites.” [The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)]
So the Bangladesh office of global advertising network, Grey Group, got together with Coca-Cola to share happiness in a way that would also benefit the planet. Share Happiness is a Coca-Cola campaign that has been running in countries throughout the world since 2009 (when it was called Open Happiness). In each execution, vending machines are reconfigured so that they perform only under certain conditions. In one execution, a Coca-Cola vending machine was placed in India and one in Pakistan. The machone allowed locals in each of the warrin
This time, Grey Bangladesh has reconfigured arcade machines to run on empty Coca-Cola bottles. When the locals bring a bottle?to recycle at the Happiness Arcade, they are given credits to play arcade games with their friends at the specially modified arcade machines. The arcade machines allow them to Share Happiness with their friends while doing their bit for the environment. Meanwhile, they’re also made aware of the need to recycle and rewarded for doing so.
The campaign began with six Happiness Arcades in six locations. And in six days, more than 1,000 empty Coca-Cola bottles were collected. These bottles were then recycled into pellets that can be re-used. More than 3,000 people in Dhaka have already experienced the Coca-Cola Happiness Arcade. And Grey promises that is just a small start for the recycling movement in Dhaka. It intends to keep “Making a case for recycling, one game at a time”.
