From Oct. 30- Dec. 20, consumers of Coca-Cola’s product can now segregate, collect and send their PET plastic waste to collecting centers managed by Mahija Parahita Nusantara in Jakarta, Bekasi and Tangerang. By using the Waste4Change platform, recyclers will receive reward points, and the accumulated plastic waste will be processed into t-shirts, bags and other valuable products.

Last year, the initiative successfully collected over 220 kilograms of plastic bottles from thousands of participants between October and December 2021. This year, Recycle Me will be providing a logistical subsidy up to Rp 30,000 (US$1.93) for the first 3,000 users. Reward points can also be used to redeem various utility tokens including phone credit, electricity tokens and an e-wallet with a maximum worth of Rp 25,000 at various merchants.

“Companies like Coca-Cola can play an important role in using the power and reach of their brand to drive consumer awareness of recycling and help inspire behavior change. We are confident that this year's Recycle Me program will have a far greater impact on reducing plastic waste in Indonesia," said managing director of Waste4Change, Mohamad Bijaksana Junerosano.

Furthermore, the initiative is also an attempt to create a closed-loop production for PET bottles in Indonesia. For this program, Coca-Cola is utilizing a recycled PET (rPET) plant operating under Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in collaboration with Dynapack Asia and Amandina Bumi Nusantara. In 2022, the Amandina plant has the capacity to process 15,000 tonnes of waste/year with an aim to increase production up to 25,000 tonnes of waste/year in 2023.

"The Mahija Parahita Nusantara Foundation will provide eight collection centers to distribute used plastic PET plastic bottles in the Recycle Me program where later all PET plastic bottles collected by Mahija will be recycled by Amandina Bumi Nusantara,” said Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability director for Indonesia and PNG Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Lucia Karina

The program will also benefit informal waste collectors (pemulung) who have been supported by the Mahija Parahita Foundation. Over the years, the foundation has contributed to the welfare of pemulung families through programs such as free health checkups and donations in the form of basic needs.

“We believe that informal waste collectors play an important role in the local economy and contribute significantly to increasing the rate of PET plastic bottle collection in Indonesia,” added Karina.

Involving customers and making them aware of the importance of the process of collecting and recycling used packaging is also part of Coca-Cola’s vision to create a World Without Waste --one of which is realized through achieving its zero-waste target by 2030.

“By doing the Recycle Me again in its second year, we are once again raising awareness and provide an incentive for our customers to sort their used bottles. And through our collaboration with Waste4Change and the Mahija Parahita Nusantara Foundation, we are ensuring these bottles are recycled and getting a second life.” said director of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability PT Coca-Cola Indonesia, Triyono Prijosoesilo.

For more information about the Recycle Me program, visit https://recycleme.coca-cola.co.id/

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