Reduce Plastic Movement Advances the Economy and Cuts Down Plastic Waste

Reduce Plastic Movement Advances the Economy and Cuts Down Plastic Waste

JAKARTA: That afternoon, the stacks of white sacks filled with plastic waste looked towering. This is a common scene at the Kampung Berseri Astra Rawajati (KBA) waste bank in South Jakarta, especially right before the waste is processed by a chopping machine on site.

KBA Rawajati is one of the 22 KBAs across Indonesia that implement Semangat Kurangi Plastik (Reduce Plastic Movement), an Astra's sustainable social contribution program that aims to reduce single-use plastic waste. This program was launched by Astra in February 2020.

KBA Rawajati collects single-use plastic waste from households in the KBA Rawajati neighbourhood. It also accepts garbage collected from the river by the Pancoran Water Body Cleaning Unit. Every day, the unit deposits 100 kg worth of garbage to the waste bank.

Thanks to the waste bank, residents who had never managed household wastes properly are now slowly starting to change. They take benefit from the waste bank by responsibly managing their waste and cutting back on single-use plastics. From local households to college students outside the neighbourhood, as many as 858 people are currently registered as the waste bank’s customers. Presently, the bank manages a total cash of Rp24 million.

"The KBA Rawajati Waste Bank has transformed into a place that helps improving the welfare of residents who are motivated to carry out proper and correct waste management," said Sylvia Ermita, a woman who has been trusted to run KBA Rawajati for 18 years.

Sylvia is a local champion or the figure behind the lushness of KBA Rawajati. She has dedicated her time to managing waste, providing education and raising awareness regarding waste management to the residents in order to prevent the negative impact of waste on the environment.

Every day, Sylvia welcomes residents who wish to help managing organic and inorganic waste to be reprocessed. As of June 2020, as much as 1,825 kg of disposable waste was collected by residents.

Some waste can be processed into household items, for example paper waste can be turned into containers, plastic waste can be turned into rugs, and organic waste can be recycled as compost.

"Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we limit the number of processors and craftsmen so that this program can continue," said Sylvia while sorting the types of waste that can be sold to the waste bank.

Not only with local residents, the Rawajati Waste Bank has also partnered with government institutions and an online transportation platform to be a hub for drivers or service users to drop-in their plastic waste.

Reduce Plastic Movement
The waste bank development program at the KBA is part of the Semangat Kurangi Plastik campaign.

To date, a total of 44.05 tonnes of plastic waste has been managed by Astra alongside 63 Astra Group companies and Astra foundations. This movement is Astra’s concrete solution in preserving the environment and is aligned with Astra's social contribution in the environmental sector.

Various activities have been carried out by Astra Group companies and Astra foundations. These include the provisioning of waste-sorting boxes Kotak Semangat Astra, the policy to reduce plastic materials in product packaging, prohibiting the consumption of mineral water in plastic packaging at meetings, educating the food catering vendors on the use of disposable plastics, and sorting waste and cleaning around work areas.

The spirit of Sylvia with the residents of KBA Rawajati, Astra Group companies and Astra Group foundations to reduce single-use plastic waste and the utilization of waste banks is in line with Astra's mission to prosper with the nation.

For further information, please contact:

Boy Kelana Soebroto

Head of Corporate Communications

PT Astra International Tbk

Ph. 021-508-43-888

About Astra:

PT Astra International Tbk was established in 1957 in Jakarta as a general trading company under the name Astra International Inc. In 1990, for the purpose of the company’s initial public offering (IPO), the name of the company changed to PT Astra International Tbk, followed by listing its shares on the Indonesia Stock Exchange under the ticker code ASII.

Astra has developed its business by implementing a business model based on synergies and diversification within seven business segments, consisting of: 1) Automotive, 2) Financial Services, 3) Heavy Equipment, Mining, Construction & Energy, 4) Agribusiness, 5) Infrastructure and Logistics, 6) Information Technology and 7) Property.

Astra conducts business operations in all parts of Indonesia under the management of more than 235 subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates companies, and was supported by more than 194.359 employees, as of June 2020.

As one of the largest national business groups today, Astra has built a strong reputation through offering a range of quality products and services, taking into account the implementation of good corporate governance and environmental governance. Astra always aspires to be the pride of the nation that participates in efforts to improve the welfare of the Indonesian people.

Therefore, Astra's business activities strive to apply a balanced mix in the commercial aspects of business and non-business contributions through 9 foundations and a variety of sustainable social responsibility programmes Astra Untuk Indonesia Sehat, Astra Untuk Indonesia Cerdas, Astra Untuk Indonesia Hijau and Astra Untuk Indonesia Kreatif.

Astra initiated the Semangat Astra Terpadu Untuk (SATU) Indonesia Awards programme, which has entered a decade this year, and has given recognition awards to 305 young Indonesians, consisting of 59 national level recipients and 246 provincial level recipients in the fields of Health, Education, the Environment, Entrepreneurship and Technology, which are integrated with Astra’s wide range of community activities through 87 Kampung Berseri Astra and 645 Desa Sejahtera Astra initiated in 34 provinces throughout Indonesia.

For further information, please visit www.astra.co.id & www.satu-indonesia.com, and follow Astra through Instagram (@SATU_Indonesia), Youtube (SATU Indonesia), Facebook (Semangat Astra Terpadu) and Twitter (@SATU_Indonesia).