Indonesia imports recyclate because it lacks collection infrastructure says Industry Ministry

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Plastic waste Indonesia

An Indonesian Government official has said that the country will need to continue to import secondary materials as it lacks collection infrastructure.

Indonesian Industry Ministry head of the Centre for Green Industry, Standardisation and Industrial Service Policy R Hendro Martono said that the country produced 6.8 million tonnes of plastic waste per year, but only had the capacity to recycle 2 million tonnes of it.

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He warned that without implementing an integrated system for waste sorting, collection and transportation for recycling, the country has an insufficient supply of recycled raw materials. He added: “Hence, we need to import non-toxic waste in scrap.”

The official added that the country sees opportunities in developing a recycling industry for plastics, paper, textiles and metals.

However, more investment is needed to bring its collection and processing infrastructure up to required levels, while the Indonesian public also needed to be educated in recycling wisely.

So far, investment in Indonesia’s recycling capacity had been 5.15 trillion Indonesian rupiahs (£256 million) and there are around 1,000 recycling companies in the country, he added.

Plus, he said that the Industry Ministry was developing policy to incentivise green industry.

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