“Recycling Academia” has opened in Mongolia with the goal of spreading public knowledge and education on waste recycling and strengthening the capacity of all stakeholders. Through “Recycling Academia,” everyone — including schoolchildren and university students — can learn about the plastic recycling process, and participate in training and awareness activities related to waste management.
This academy was initiated by the “Mongolia Without Waste” NGO and was established in partnership on the first floor of the “TML Plastic” factory, which recycles plastic water and beverage bottles. The NGO works to bring waste and packaging stakeholders under one umbrella and address pressing challenges in protecting natural resources by improving producer responsibility.
Frank Schepers, Executive Director of “Waste-Free Mongolia,” said: “Our goal is to serve as a bridge that brings together key stakeholders such as the government, local administrations, private sector companies, and NGOs, and to foster cooperation. This is because building a recycling value chain in Mongolia is not the job of a single company or only the government — it requires effort and collaboration from all sides.”
Paul Zimmerman, General Manager of the “Drink Without Waste” movement, said: “In Hong Kong, we brought together all stakeholders—water and beverage producers, waste management service providers, civil society and environmental organizations, financial institutions, retailers, government bodies, NGOs, and associations. With support from all parties, we were able to establish a legal and regulatory environment and create a producer and seller responsibility system. We believe this can also be implemented in Mongolia.”
The initiative aims to expand “Waste-Free Mongolia” beyond a single NGO’s work and develop it into a nationwide movement. MCS Coca-Cola and APU JSC have expressed their willingness to participate in and support this partnership.
L. Myagmarjav, CEO of MCS Coca-Cola LLC, stated: “Our company has set a goal to recycle an amount of plastic equal to the number of products we sell by 2030. As of last year, we collected 56% back. Starting this year, certain products will begin using recycled packaging. In this effort to take responsibility for our packaging, we are calling on all our partners and consumers to work with us.”
To establish effective waste management in Mongolia, long-term policy, planning, and implementation are needed, starting from the legal and regulatory environment. Therefore, the initiative is calling on all stakeholders—including national manufacturers and importers, as well as sellers and distributors of their products—to join this movement.