Recycle Cafe
Background
Verpact plays a central role in making the packaging chain more circular. On behalf of producers and importers, they ensure that packaging is collected and recycled in a smart and efficient way, including through the deposit return system. Megawatt was tasked with developing a standout activation to encourage consumers to return empty packaging (specifically deposit-bearing items) during King’s Day in Amsterdam. A key objective was to make it clear that deposit has value beyond money: it helps prevent litter and keeps the city clean for everyone. A win-win all round.
Approach
This was about more than simply ‘collecting’. We were asking for behavioural change at a time when the entire city is in a celebratory mood. Desired behaviour only happens when motivation, convenience and a clear trigger come together at the same time.
Megawatt created the Recycle Café: the first bar where returning matters more than ordering. On the Vijzelgracht bridge, we built a classic Amsterdam-style bar right on the water. Together with our partners, we used on-site messaging to encourage people to hand in their empty cans. With music playing and inviting nets at the ready, passing partygoers happily tossed their cans into the correct bins and bags.
Result
The main challenge for this activation was time. From briefing to execution in just eight weeks? It can be done, as our highly efficient team proved. By focusing on what works (and what has worked before), we recycled several successful ideas from previous years. With a few smart tweaks and a smooth production process, everything felt fresh and engaging, while still building on a proven concept.
It was a full-on sprint from idea to production and activation. In the end, it was a great success, with over 20,000 kilos of cans and waste collected.
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