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AQUA pushes ahead with efforts to promote wise plastic use
AQUA, a bottled mineral water brand manufactured by PT Tirta Investama, is taking further steps to advance its plastic bottle recycling program.
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AQUA 2019
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QUA, a bottled mineral water brand manufactured by PT Tirta Investama, is taking further steps to advance its plastic bottle recycling program. After partly implementing the program, it will soon implement it fully through the production of its 100 percent recycled plastic bottle, the first in Indonesia and among the first in the world.
AQUA is committed to accelerating innovation in packaging to solve the plastic waste pollution challenge in Indonesia.
AQUA will launch its new 100 percent recycled 1.1 liter plastic bottle primarily in Bali and begin distribution in Jakarta in the second half of 2019. It is currently impossible to make all our water bottles from 100 percent rPET, but AQUA is committed to moving in that direction by taking small steps along the way, starting with the launch of the new bottle in Bali.
Consumers appreciate brands that are committed to protecting the environment. AQUA is one such brand, which has shown its commitment to sustainability through the implementation of its 100 percent recycled plastic bottle project. It will be sold with a bare presentation, without any additional plastic labelling or decoration. The initiative represents a step forward toward creating a cleaner Indonesia and an active effort to reduce plastic waste through innovation.
According to the Environment and Forestry Ministry, Indonesians throw away around 9 million tons of plastic every year, with most of it ending up in landfills, clogging waterways or being washed into the ocean, damaging marine life.
The government aims to reduce plastic waste by 70 percent by 2025 and it has also committed up to US$1 billion annually to remove plastic debris from its seas. The plastic bottle recycling project will help the Indonesian government reduce plastic waste, especially waste that already pollutes the ocean, and meet its target of reducing carbon emissions as plastic is made from the derivatives of fossil fuels.
The continued burning of fossil fuels has been blamed as a cause of air pollution and climate change. Some surveys have even concluded that air pollution is cutting global life expectancy by an average of 1.8 years, making it the world's top killer after smoking cigarettes.
Besides protecting the environment, the project is also aimed at promoting the development of a circular economic system in Indonesia. The 100 percent recycled plastic bottle is part of the pioneering efforts of AQUA, the oldest and largest bottled mineral water brand in Indonesia, to generate higher growth of the circular economy. It has recently announced a series of new commitments and actions to ensure its packaging will become 100 percent circular and to accelerate the global transition toward a circular economy of packaging.
AQUA will accelerate its transition toward the circular economy in three ways. First, initiatives to improve product design and develop alternative delivery and reuse models.
Second, investments to develop effective, efficient and inclusive systems for increased collection and recycling. To boost plastic reuse, recycling and composting, AQUA recognizes that design will not be enough to make its packaging fully circular. Effective collection and recycling systems are essential to ensuring packaging is recycled, reused or composted.
Third, actions to preserve natural resources by reintegrating recycled materials into its packaging and using renewable materials.
Transitioning to a circular economy means seeking to no longer use packaging from finite resources. This helps preserve natural resources and keep existing packaging materials in use and out of nature. Using recycled materials is a key component of this.
Hopefully, it will create a new culture of recycling and reusing under the circular economic principle, which will be increasingly popular among Indonesians.
