2018 was a successful inaugural year for Project STOP in Indonesia. In April, with support from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and Banyuwangi Regency, we launched our partnership with the coastal city of Muncar, in East Java, to create a circular waste management system that prevents waste from entering the ocean, increases plastic recycling and benefits local communities.
Under the leadership of Andre Kuncoroyekti, Project STOP Chief Delivery Officer, the project has worked with local government agencies, local businesses and community organisations to build an end-to-end system for plastic waste management – bringing waste collection to one community in Muncar, upgrading a community waste management facility, cleaning plastic accumulations from beaches, and supporting the sale of plastics to recycling plants in the nearby city of Surabaya.
These achievements were enabled by support from Project STOP’s global partners – Borealis, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NOVA Chemicals, Borouge, Veolia, Sustainable Waste Indonesia and SYSTEMIQ – which enabled our achievement of key metrics and milestones for the year, including:
126: Tons of waste from entering the ocean
27: Community meetings to consult and inform on new waste systems
8,000: Number of Muncar residents receiving waste collection for the first time
481: Hours of training delivered to workers in the waste system and community leaders
49: Total number of full-time and part-time jobs created in the new waste system
“We are proud of the 2018 milestones Project STOP has achieved in Indonesia but know it’s just the beginning in our commitment to deliver concrete solutions that permanently prevent plastic waste from entering the environment and benefit communities in Southeast Asia,” said Joi Danielson, Program Director, Ocean Plastics Asia, at SYSTEMIQ. “We are grateful for the support of the Indonesian government, Banyuwangi Regency, and our partners who have worked with us this year to make this possible.”
Project STOP will continue to expand the project in Muncar and later this year, we will announce new city partnerships to achieve its mission.
