Bepensa Dominicana and the Coca-Cola System, together with the Regional Initiative for Inclusive Recycling (IRR), announced the resumption of the Recycling Stories – World Without Waste Journalism Award, an incentive that seeks to reward, through financial and technical support, innovative investigative journalism proposals for excellent coverage of inclusive recycling initiatives.
The "Recycling Stories – World Without Waste Journalism Award" scholarships aim to collaborate with media outlets and press professionals to enrich the public agenda on topics relevant to the search for sustainable development models in the Dominican Republic.
“Today, the Coca-Cola System reaffirms our commitment to a waste-free Dominican Republic,” said Carlos Ricalde, Director of Caribbean Operations at The Coca-Cola Company. “These scholarships are a valuable contribution to Dominican journalism, promoting it as a key player in the change we are promoting. Coca-Cola aims to make A World Without Waste a vision shared by all.”, he added.
“A World Without Waste is a holistic plan focused on reducing our impact throughout the entire packaging lifecycle, from how bottles and cans are designed and manufactured to how they are collected and recycled. The world needs more people to recycle more frequently, and education and information are a fundamental part of achieving this. Our goal is to help people understand the value of recycling for the country.”, highlighted Paola Sierra, Public Affairs Manager for the Caribbean at The Coca-Cola Company.
For her part, Jadira Vivanco, IRR Coordinator for Colombia and Central America, stated: “For the IRR, strengthening quality journalism in Latin America is a priority because we understand that well-told stories, with solid arguments and rigor, that incorporate the region's idiosyncrasies, create the conditions for the inclusive recycling paradigm to advance in times of the Circular Economy. These types of actions with our allies are generating committed journalism, capable of giving visibility to actors who engage in collaborative processes and initiatives that don't always reach the public eye.”
Its effective contribution to better understanding and contextualizing issues related to inclusive recycling in the Dominican Republic.
Develop journalistic coverage based on a plurality of viewpoints, a variety of sources, and ethical handling of information. A research approach that goes beyond reporting problems and explores possible solutions, considering, among other aspects, the organization of social actors in networks and other forms of collective action. Research depth, rigor, and social relevance.
The resulting reports from each of the grant proposals must be published by the respective media outlets in September 2020. Once published, a jury will select the winner from the three reports, who will travel to Atlanta, United States, to learn about the World of Coca-Cola and conduct an interview with the global executive of "World Without Waste," with the commitment to publish it in the respective media outlet.
The "World Without Waste" initiative has clear goals for the coming years, such as recovering and recycling 100% of packaging placed on the market by 2030, making its packaging 100% recyclable, and producing packaging with at least 50% recycled PET by 2025.
In the Dominican Republic, Bepensa and Coca-Cola are constantly working to improve their packaging, and nearly 25% of their bottles are returnable, making it the largest producer of non-alcoholic beverages in returnable packaging in the Dominican market. The System also invested 41% more than in 2019 in media to promote the use of returnable packaging through the "Let's Live More Returnable" campaign, which will allow it to reach 70% of the Dominican population.
Bepensa and Coca-Cola work with communities, organizations, governments, and industry to promote programs that impact packaging collection and create programs that generate ongoing momentum in community culture. In this context, they have worked on beach cleanup and ocean conservation initiatives, as well as the Regional Inclusive Recycling Initiative (IRR), the main regional platform for coordinating actions, investments, and knowledge related to Inclusive Recycling.
Another recent example of these alliances, to which Bepensa Dominicana belongs, is NUVI, the largest private alliance for solid waste management promoted by the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD), which will work to create a culture of waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and utilization.
