Alba Group, the Germany-based materials, recycling and environmental services company is spending almost 55 million euros ($60million), to help stop tons of plastic waste from entering the waterways in Indonesia with a PET processing facility in Central Java.
Axel Schweitzer, chairman and owner of Alba Group Asia, said at the groundbreaking event the investment was made to support Indonesia’s goal of reducing plastic leakage to the ocean by 70 percent by 2025 and to near-zero percent by 2040. Each year, approximately 8 to 12 million metric tons of plastic ends up in the ocean.
“We aim at increasing the collection rates in Indonesia by creating markets. We believe in the positive social impact of this project as we work closely with local collectors and will create 150 new jobs in the region,” said Schweitzer.
Indonesia is one of the top contributors to marine plastic pollution.
“Our project will increase food-grade recycled PET production capacity in Indonesia and contribute to the creation of a circular economy for plastics,” Mr. Schweitzer said.
Over 8 million tonnes of plastic waste end up in the ocean every year, out of which Indonesia is a global top contributor with an estimated 600,000 tonnes, according to the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.
For the construction of the waste-processing plant, called PT Alba Tridi Plastics Recycling Indonesia, Alba partnered with Tridi Oasis Group, a recycling company based in Tangerang, Banten, just west of Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta.
ATPRI is a joint venture between Alba Group Asia and PT Tridi Oasis Group founder Dian Kurniawati. In 2022, Alba Group Asia successfully completed the joint venture acquisition of PT Tridi Oasis Group and created PT AlbaTridi Plastics Recycling Indonesia.The new plant, based on technology provided by equipment manufacturers in Asia and Europe and the expertise of Alba’s Interzero brand, will have the capacity to process 48,000 tons of PET bottles per year, diverting these from landfills, open burning, or leakage into the ocean. The plant will produce 36,000 tonnes of recycled PET.
Dian Kurniawati, the director of PT Alba Tridi Plastics Recycling Indonesia and founder of PT Tridi Oasis Group, said the facility was scheduled to go into operation in 2025.
“All of us know that Indonesia’s plastic pollution problem is everyone's problem. Therefore, we need everyone's solution including the government, civil society, global companies, as well as financial institutions, through multi-stakeholders’ collaboration. We are excited to jointly working together with our joint venture partner, Alba, who strongly demonstrates gender lensed investing," Kurniawati said.
"This investment not only aims to solve the waste problem and create economic value, but also empowers local SMEs and women entrepreneurs like me to upscale our organizational capabilities. We believe that this partnership is a significant example on how social and environmental issues can be resolved through strategic collaboration of multi-stakeholders,” she said.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP) provided the $44.2 million blue loan for the construction of the factory. Blue loans are financing instruments that aim to safeguard access to clean water, protect underwater environments, and invest in a sustainable water economy.The certified blue loan adheres to ADB’s Ocean Finance Framework and the defined criteria for investments under its Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economies.
“It has been a pleasure working with ADB on this landmark project for Central Java,” said Axel Schweitzer. At Alba Group Asia, we are following our vision of a world without waste. We are excited to do more projects like this in Indonesia and the wider Southeast Asia region, and look forward to partnering with ADB to explore future opportunities.”