Guidelines for the Journalism Competition for Media Professionals

RATIONALE

MCS Coca-Cola has set a goal of recycling all the plastic packaging of the water and beverages it sells by 2030, and since 2022 has been carrying out a wide range of activities to collect plastic at source — an important step in raising public awareness of the value of plastic recycling. Next year the company plans to bring to market, for the first time, products in PET packaging recycled 100 percent domestically from raw material to finished goods, in line with global standards and practice. We are therefore announcing a journalism competition in order to make information about the quality standards of food-grade recycled PET packaging, and about the importance of plastic recycling, more widely accessible to the public.

COMPETITION TOPIC

“Introducing food-grade recycled PET plastic packaging into use”

OBJECTIVE

• the state of PET plastic recycling for water and beverages worldwide;
• the fact that recycled plastic can be used for food-grade applications and meets both international and national standard requirements;
• plastic sorting, the correct recycling chain and its importance;
• the vital role of cooperation and involvement among all stakeholders — PET plastic importers, consumers, manufacturers and others. The aim is to convey this information to the public in a clear and accessible form.

SCOPE

Members of the Green Press Journalists’ Association and journalists from other media outlets

TIMELINE

January 10, 2026 – February 2, 2026

PRIZE FUND

*Three winners will be selected from the entries received.

• 1st place – MNT 3,000,000
• 2nd place – MNT 2,000,000
• 3rd place – MNT 1,000,000

*Every entry submitted to the competition will receive a cash award in line with its quality and content

REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTRIES

• • Entrants must take part in the tour of the TML Plastic factory on January 10, 2026 and receive the briefing there
  • The entry must be a work of journalism other than routine news reporting, published in the mass media between January 10 and February 2, 2026 /for example: a feature report, article, broadcast program, review, short video, multimedia article, or investigative piece/
  • The entry must uphold the highest standards of journalistic ethics
  • Any figures and facts cited in the entry must be based on research and drawn from accurate, verified sources
  • The use of graphics and data visualization in the entry will be considered an advantage

    • Information and web links confirming that the entry was published within the announced period and made available to the public must be sent to
      – oyun-erdene.er@mcscocacola.mn
      – sanchirgarav@mww.mn
      – journalist1023@gmail.com by February 3. The email must include the following information.

      These are:
      a. Email subject: Plastics Journalist Competition 2026
      b. Name of the participant
      c. Phone number
      d. Name of the media outlet that published or distributed the entry
      e. Date of publication or distribution

• When posting the entry on social platforms, tag/mention the company’s official Facebook page and include the following hashtags
  1. #Хуванцрыг_ХаявалХог_АнгилбалХэрэглээ
  2. #CocaColaMongolia

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/3r.mcscocacola
Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/3r_mcscoca_cola/

• To avoid factual errors when citing figures, facts or terminology relating to the topic of the competition and to the work carried out under the project, entrants may send their piece to the project team for review before publication.

Judging panel:
– Representatives of MCS Coca-Cola
– Representatives of the Zero Waste Mongolia NGO
– A judging panel made up of representatives of the “Green Press” Journalists’ Association will review the entries and select the winners.

Recommendation: Journalists taking part in the competition can obtain detailed information from the organizers by joining the tour of the TML Plastic factory on January 10, 2025.

Thank you for your interest in taking part in this journalism competition.
We wish you every success!