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Merlin Annual Pass

I see once again Merlin are churning out more plastic crap that will end up in landfill in a few years.

I get they are reusable to a point but they need to get a grip on stuff like this. They should look at more eco alternatives like the Chillys style bottles (stainless steel) and ensure they can be reused across all parks indefinitely.
 
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Alsty said:
I see one again Merlin are churning out more plastic crap that will end up in landfill in a few years.

I get they are reusable to a point but they need to get a grip on stuff like this. They should look at more eco alternatives like the Chillys style bottles (stainless steel) and ensure they can be reused across all parks indefinitely.
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Surely a coke freestyle version of a reusable bottle would make more sense? The trouble is stainless steel would bring the price up loads which means people would just drink water or whatever, people haven't got loads of disposable income at the minute so trips to places like towers might be on a budget. I agree that not allowing it to be used at all the attractions is a bit stupid, it should be transferable. I think you should get sent a cup with your MAP, meaning most people will keep it and use it when the visit the parks. As for regular day visitors give them the option of what sort of cup the want, but attempt to push the freestyle.
 
At Heide Park if you picked up a beer from a kiosk you paid a deposit and they gave it to you in a reusable cup. You could get refills of the cup if you wanted. Then when you're done you return the cup for the deposit back. The returned cups are washed and later reused for other customers.

This kind of approach is what Merlin should be thinking. Not creating stuff that people will use a few times each season for a couple of years maximum before chucking in the bin.
 
Alsty said:
At Heide Park if you picked up a beer from a kiosk you paid a deposit and they gave it to you in a reusable cup. You could get refills of the cup if you wanted. Then when you're done you return the cup for the deposit back. The returned cups are washed and later reused for other customers.

This kind of approach is what Merlin should be thinking. Not creating stuff that people will use a few times each season for a couple of years maximum before chucking in the bin.
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That sort of thing is common in Germany and Switzerland where Coke bottles have a deposit on them and reuse has been standard for 30 years.
It’s their governments that have done more to push reusables.

I don’t think a stainless steel bottle makes any sense for theme parks as the price would be stupid. But having one cup that can be used across all Merlin theme parks (including Warwick Castle) would make sense, the Lon regular visitors can bring it back and just pay to reactive. They could last for years then.
 
That sort of thing used to be very common in this country until the seventies...
All the Coke I drank as a kid, and the Pepsi, came in a nice chilled glass bottle.
2d (old git) on each bottle if it left the cafe.
Including in the american cafe at the Beach that is now the ticket office.
Hop over the pub back wall, pass a crate of empty brown ale bottles over to your mates, then take small groups of bottles back to the pub for the penny on each one.
Recycling at its very best.
And, needless to say, the bottle crates were made out of wood, not plastic, but could be used as big lego to build great (crate) dens.
 
Alsty said:
At Heide Park if you picked up a beer from a kiosk you paid a deposit and they gave it to you in a reusable cup. You could get refills of the cup if you wanted. Then when you're done you return the cup for the deposit back. The returned cups are washed and later reused for other customers.

This kind of approach is what Merlin should be thinking. Not creating stuff that people will use a few times each season for a couple of years maximum before chucking in the bin.
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This is a good point, and I agree. I'll get one of these cups and use the free vouchers, because they'll be of use to me, but come the end of the season the cup will be binned. Not great really.

That's interesting about the beers at Heide Park, and is similar to how you now get a coffee at Europa-Park. Coffees are now served in re-usable plastic cups (they're really nice with lovely EP designs on them). You pay a €2 deposit for the cup and it can be refilled when you want you next coffee, and you can return it at the end of the day and get your deposit back. I have kept mine, and will be taking it to use again when I go this summer! They're also nicer to drink from than the old disposable single use cups.
 
Sorry if this isn’t the right thread but I’ve just come across this post on Facebook and it kind of relates to the recent discussion on the freestyle cups. How funny that Merlin are discontinuing the free pop badges you can collect in the name of ‘cutting down on single use plastic’ yet still make you buy individual freestyle cups for each park. Granted the cups aren’t meant to be ‘single use’ but most of these cups will end up in landfill at some point yet they needlessly encourage people to buy one for each park.

You’re either environmentally friendly or you’re not, make up your mind Merlin or just be upfront and admit you don’t want to give patrons something for nothing. It’s a shame really because my children have really enjoyed collecting the pop badges so far this season. I even have a few myself, the Towers Mardi Gras one is pretty cool.

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Personally I am pleased they are getting rid of pop badges, the vast vast majority of them will be chucked into landfill or end up in an ocean somewhere.

At the same time though, I agree that not being able to use the refill cups across the parks is poor.

But just because they don’t fix everything, doesn’t mean they can’t make steps to fix some things. It all helps.
 
I'd take the word of a marginal fansite like Chessington Buzz with a pinch of salt. However, if there is truth in this, then it's great.
 
I guess it’s nice for people who don’t have a lot of money to spend on pin badges or other stuff in the gift shops. They’re also used as a reward for example at Warwick Castle my kids got one for doing the sword fighting training (I forget the proper name for it now).

Think I’m in the minority but I like them, I was also under the impression that they could be recycled. I plan on keeping all ours for the foreseeable future as part of our collection of theme park merch.

EDIT; I have just had a look at some of the pop badges we have, and it says on the back that they are made using recycled plastic. Whether they can be recycled again is a different matter but it’s something.
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Rob said:
I have never understood the Merlin pop badge obsession; they look cheap and ugly, and are a terrible use of plastic. Proper pin badges are far better and much more likely to be kept as a collectable by the owner.
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BigShadowtinytree said:
I guess it’s nice for people who don’t have a lot of money to spend on pin badges or other stuff in the gift shops. They’re also used as a reward for example at Warwick Castle my kids got one for doing the sword fighting training (I forget the proper name for it now).

Think I’m in the minority but I like them, I was also under the impression that they could be recycled. I plan on keeping all ours for the foreseeable future as part of our collection of theme park merch.
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I agree with both of these, I didn't get them myself and proper pin badges are nicer, but the parks do need a free giveaway for things like that sword fighting etc.

Whether pop badges are recycleble mainly depends on what type of plastic, my local council only takes 1 (PET used for pop bottles, food trays, cups etc) and 2 (HDPE used for shampoo and bleach bottles, other containers). Many other things are type 5 (PP used for chilled soup/sauce and other rigid containers for microwaving). Not sure what pop badges are made from but my guess is its one of the less well recycled.
 
Had my cup vouchers and lanyard delivered via courier (!) this morning, they must be spending a ridiculous amount of money to get them out to people.

You'd have thought by now they'd have an app to allow people to store their pass, make reservations, allow vouchers such as this to be issued and have the capability to add additional offers throughout the season. They could add a bit of gamification for pass holders too (e.g. virtual badges for attending all the events in the season, then people share them on social media and bam - free advertising!). They could then get rid of sending ridiculous boxes of lanyards and cards out, increase their environmental credentials, save those delivery miles and if people want one allow them to pick them up at the park use a voucher loaded into the app. There's a large chunk of people who don't even bother to use the pass lanyard (me included), and even the physical card is virtually redundant these days.

Oh and a final complaint that's gone on as long as the Air tunnel - allow the damn pass barcodes to scan for discounts as well instead of this ridiculous pass number typing in the hotels!
 
Craig said:
Had my cup vouchers and lanyard delivered via courier (!) this morning, they must be spending a ridiculous amount of money to get them out to people.
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Same with mine - with delivery instructions of URGENT MUST OBTAIN POD. Seems rather over the top!

Again I completely agree about the box they send out to passholders with a load of stuff that I just put straight in to the bin. I know some people do like this stuff, which is fine, but as Craig says allow these people to pick up a box at one of the parks rather than just sending it out to everyone. It is a financial and environmental waste.
 
Craig said:
allow the damn pass barcodes to scan for discounts as well instead of this ridiculous pass number typing in the hotels!
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I assume the issue is they would need to add scanners to the hotel tills then. No reason why they couldn't of course but that would be the limiting factor.
 
jon81uk said:
I assume the issue is they would need to add scanners to the hotel tills then. No reason why they couldn't of course but that would be the limiting factor.
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Yup, when they probably have a shed load hanging around from on park anyway, it's crazy that they're still required to muck about typing it in. Of course, there's plenty of other issues at the hotels such as getting rid of mobile ordering when it could've saved a lot of hassle in the long run, but that's for another topic ;).
 
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