How to Improve the Impact of the Circular Economy Concept on a Grass Roots Level in Indonesia

Apart from the 36 initiatives mentioned above, some private-sector players have also started similar projects.

Director of Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability PT Coca-Cola Indonesia Triyono Prijosoesilo, unveiled in a discussion titled “Coca-Cola System Towards The Circular Economy in Indonesia” on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, said the concept of the linear economy, which refers to the production of goods is at the expense of the productivity of ecosystems on earth, is becoming a burden, not just to the society, environment, but also the government as well as corporations.

Coca-Cola, Triyono said, considers the scavengers as one of the front liners for the implementation of the circular economy concept.

He said, this type of informal worker is often forgotten and economically marginalized.

"We expect to implement a circular economy concept with support from our friends, who have been forgotten (the scavengers). We hope to improve their welfare,” he said.

Coca-Cola Indonesia, which is part of the US-owned global soft drink manufacturer Coca-Cola, has been initiating some projects to help improve scavengers’ welfare in Indonesia.

Hilary Ignatius Kenneth, the CEO of PT Mahkota Giovey Abadi, a company that manufactures travel pack bottles for F&B industry efforts to promote a circular economy is better be more "down to earth" and not to forget to target the millennials.

“The concept of a circular economy must be visible. It must be brought as close as possible to the millennials. The concept must be visible in the eyes of the millennials, where they hang out, we must be there. For example, at some cafes, the owners must start introducing a logo of 100 percent recycled," he said.

"This kind of pride to use recycled products is important to make it into a trend and become a custom in the new normal,” said Kenneth, whose Mahkota Giovey produces plastic bottles made of 100 percent recycled materials.

Rocky P., the National Advisor di Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, said “A Circular Economy concept is comprehensive”.

Waste management of the production processes, as well as the waste after consumption, are just one of the components.”

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“A circular economy concept covers the idea of how to redesign waste or to make no waste at all. It is how to minimize waste or reuse materials. This approach is expected to extend the value of the products, apart from allowing for more job opportunities.”

GIZ, along with Expertise France, is handling a project called “Rethinking Plastic – Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter”.

Commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and funded by the European Union, this project has been run, from 2019 to 2022, in a number of countries, which are China, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.