Recycled PET for Coca-Cola’s rPET Bottles in Indonesia
The rPET is produced by an Indonesian recycler on two recycling systems from internationally active manufacturer Starlinger.
In June 2023, Coca-Cola Indonesia – in partnership with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Indonesia (CCEP Indonesia) – launched the first bottles made from 100 percent rPET (excluding bottle caps and labels) for its most popular soft drink brands. The recycled PET is supplied by one of Indonesia’s recycling pioneers, Amandina Bumi Nusantara. The company operates a plastics recycling plant on the outskirts of Jakarta with two Starlinger recoSTAR PET HC iV+ bottle-to-bottle recycling systems and processes 3,000 tons of collected PET bottles every month. Two types of clear bottle-grade rPET pellets are produced – one for carbonated beverages and one for spring water. In addition, the company supplies hot-washed flakes in clear and light-blue colors.
Installing the two PET recycling systems was carried out by local technicians from Starlinger’s Indonesian branch office in autumn 2022. The team in the branch office in Surabaya handles machine installations, service and maintenance works and spare part orders for the manufacturer’s customers in the South East Asian region and provides immediate support if needed.
Responsible sourcing
As reported by Starlinger, Amandina assists companies in achieving their sustainability targets by providing competitive recycled PET products produced from responsibly sourced input material. For the collection of post-consumer PET bottles, Amandina Bumi Nusantara collaborates with Mahija Parahita Nusantara Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by CCEP Indonesia and Dynapack Asia. As in many other Asian countries, over 90 percent of plastic waste collection activities in Indonesia are carried out by waste pickers in the informal sector – called “recycling heroes” by Amandina and Mahija. The remaining percentage is managed through formalized systems such as waste banks and other organized collection efforts.
According to the information, CCEP Indonesia aims to make 100 percent of its packaging recyclable and to ensure that at least 50 percent of the plastic bottles are made of rPET by 2025. The company’s targets for 2030 are to collect 100 percent of its plastic bottles to enter the recycling stream and to eliminate virgin plastic in its plastic bottles.
starlinger.com/en, cocacolaep.com/en-id/
(Published in GLOBAL RECYCLING Magazine 2/2024, Page 13, Photo: Starlinger)
