Prevented Ocean Plastic opens Indonesia based collection facility

Prevented Ocean Plastic Southeast Asia (POPSEA) has announced the  opening of its new collection centre in Jl. Pegangsaan Dua KM. 1, Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, which the company says is  is the next step in the company’s mission to set up best-in-class recycling infrastructure in underserved communities across Indonesia.

According to the company,  this latest site has the capacity to process up to 110 tons of plastic waste per month, providing scope for around 30 jobs, and is a direct result of their ongoing partnership with Singapore-based investment management firm Circulate Capital who were there to inaugurate the launch. Prevented Ocean Plastic Southeast Asia’s ambition is to fill the recycling infrastructure gap by developing an efficient and impactful model that sets the standard for industry best practice in Southeast Asia.

The POPSEA team claims it is committed to developing practical solutions to improve the recycling supply chain in Indonesia and provide high-quality traceable recycled plastic to global markets, generating environmental, social and economic value from the first collector to the end consumer. To date, it is claimed that Prevented Ocean Plastic programme has prevented almost two billion bottles from reaching the ocean, and grown into an award-winning initiative that works in partnership with global brands ranging from Lidl to LVMH.

 “We have been addressing the problem of ocean plastic pollution for a long time,” says POPSEA Director, Daniel Lawrence, “and our continued partnership with Circulate Capital allows us to scale that further by building more collection centres in the areas that need it. As a result of their investment, we have been able to expand our areas of coverage, provide more income opportunities for collectors, and increase the amount of recycled material available for businesses to bring into their supply chain.” 

“We’re proud to support POPSEA as they expand their locally-customized plastic waste recycling infrastructure to coastal communities across Indonesia that have limited or no collection today,” said Regula Schegg, Founding Partner at Circulate Capital. “Through the success of its model, POPSEA is creating a blueprint for preventing plastic pollution in Indonesia and the region.” 

“It’s an honour to engage with leading investors like Circulate Capital and the global brands that back them to address the problem of ocean plastic pollution,” adds Prevented Ocean Plastic Southeast Asia co-founder, Raffi Schieir. “By building more infrastructure, we can prevent plastic at its source and create a circular economy that will elevate all those involved. This latest opening in North Jakarta expands on Prevented Ocean Plastic’s efforts to support research into the way litter moves from land to sea and present these collection centres as effective interventions that can scale with the support of government, big business and other investment. 

“Our mission is to open 25 new collection centres in at-risk coastal communities by 2025. Once complete, these new collection centres will be able to process over 68,000 tons per year of otherwise uncollected plastic from at-risk coastal regions.”