Borealis contributes to Indonesian recycling facility

Austria-based plastics and chemicals firm Borealis is part of a consortium that has funded a recyclables processing facility in Jembrana Regency, Bali, Indonesia.

The facility is being described as providing a sustainable full waste management and recycling system to serve the regency’s 150,000 residents. A groundbreaking in late July was carried out with the involvement of Project STOP, the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (the Alliance), and the Jembrana Regency. Also involved is Germany-based Siegwerk, which describes itself as a global provider of printing inks for packaging applications and labels.

The materials recovery facility (MRF) will be equipped with sorting and recyclables processing systems, residue handling equipment, and other equipment designed to manage and recycle both organic and non-organic materials from households and businesses. The facility is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2020.

“We at Borealis are pleased to see the rapid progress being made at Project STOP’s Jembrana city partnership,” says Alfred Stern, CEO of Borealis. “Collaboration with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste on key projects such as this is in line with our commitment to avoid plastics entering the ocean and environment by providing sustainable waste management with the engagement of local communities.”

“Waste management is a priority during the COVID-19 pandemic,” says I Wayan Sudiarta, head of Jembrana’s Environmental Office. “Waste services for the community must continue to run to create a clean and healthy environment. We are pleased to work in this partnership to socialize the importance of waste management, collect household waste and provide the recycling facility for the community. The start of construction on this facility marks a major milestone for local job opportunities, while strengthening the commitment to provide good services in the waste management sector.”

Says Jacob Duer, president and CEO of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, “Three billion people around the world still lack access to organized solid waste management systems, and the work we start today in Jembrana paves the way for us to demonstrate the effectiveness and scalability of these solutions. More people are joining us on this critical journey, and Project STOP Jembrana is a public-private partnership that will deliver solutions we can replicate in communities where plastic waste leakage in the environment is the highest.”

The project’s organizers say Jembrana residents have benefited from formal waste and recycling collection that started in July. Within two years, more than 150,000 people in the regency will have a formal collection service through the initiative in Jembrana.

“The Jembrana community is the heart of this important effort to keep waste out of the environment and protect lives and livelihoods,” says Joi Danielson, program director of Project STOP. “The commitment of the Jembrana Regency government, with the support of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, has been essential to our mission to create a circular waste management system and stop environmental plastic pollution.”