At last weekend's V Festival at Staffordshire in the United Kingdom, soda manufacturer Coca Cola rolled out a recycling initiative that was a boon for the concert goers. The "Swap for Swag" initiative allowed festival attendees to turn in their used plastic bottles for items made from recycled material. Products like blankets, rain ponchos and other outdoor necessities were given out to the people that visited one of the 30 recycling points around the site. According to LetsRecycle.com, the project collected more than 66,000 plastic bottles that will be taken out of local landfills.

"Coca-Cola Enterprises is committed to making recycling easier and more engaging for young people," Patrick McGuirk, the company's recycling director, told the news source. "It is not just about recycling at the festival, it is about inspiring people to recycle every bottle, every can, every day."

In addition to handing out a number of products that could enhance their concert experience, the booths also allowed concert goers to create their own accessories made out of recycled materials. Coca Cola took pictures of some of the best selections and posted them on its website as a means of continuing the company's message of sustainability.

Projects like the "Swap for Swag" event are uplifting signs for the recycling industry, as it means that manufacturers are finally following their products from the assembly line to the recycling bin. This will encourage people to do the right thing and properly dispose of these products, or finding innovative ways of reusing them. A concert is a great place to start, and hopefully the initiative will convince many more people to alter their waste habits for the better of the environment.