The Coca Cola plant at Plachimada in Palakkad district, which has been a target of attack by locals and left parties for over-exploiting groundwater and producing drinks with pollutants, will now receive a 'gift'‚ 2,000 empty plastic bottles of cola and Pepsi.

The bottles were collected in an innovative clean-up drive at the famed Kovalam tourist spot initiated by international environment protection group Greenpeace and Thanal, a local NGO.

Environmental activists, local people and students joined hands to collect the bottles. They will be sent back to the plant demanding that the multinationals must "stop trashing the planet".

The plastic bottles would be deposited at the Coca Cola and Pepsi bottling plants at Plachimada on Thursday, Greenpeace media officer Priya Nayar told mediapersons here today. Greenpeace and Thanal are currently engaged in clean-up drive aimed at turning Kovalam a zero waste spot.

The move is aimed at eliminating the tourism-generated garbage menace with local community initiatives.

Kovalam Zero Waste Project coordinator Shibu K Nair said the economic liability that waste brought with it could not be borne by the local community alone.