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Green packaging industry gains momentum amid plastic ban, e-commerce shift
Demand for eco-friendly packaging in Indonesia is growing, partly because the pandemic has spurred astronomical growth in online shopping.
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Food vendor worker serving rice on Plépah's food container made with areca palm’s midrib, a green alternative to Styrofoam. (courtesy of Plépah/-)
E
nvironmentally friendly packaging is expected to continue gaining popularity in urban areas in the short to medium term after enjoying a surge in demand last year, prompted by Jakarta’s ban on single-use plastics and a general shift to online shopping among Indonesian consumers.
Read also: Food deliveries, online game purchases up as people stay at home during COVID-19 pandemic
Both suppliers and buyers of eco-friendly packaging told The Jakarta Post that demand for the products would likely grow as Jakarta enforced full compliance with the ban and demand for food delivery services continued to rise amid the ongoing mobility restrictions.
The country’s wealthiest province enacted the ban in July 2020 a few years after similar regulations were enacted in other major cities like Denpasar in Bali and Bogor in West Java. But despite the ban, many traders at traditional markets in the nation’s capital continue to provide single-use plastic bags.
Read also: Jakarta’s ban on plastic bags still has holes
“[Demand] for sustainable packaging is rising, and this will be an attractive opportunity for investors,” Rengkuh Banyu Mahandar, the chief executive of biodegradable food container maker Plépah, told the Post on June 22.
The slowly increasing demand for eco-packaging is part of Indonesia’s greater trend in rising demand for green products, such as recycled packaging, good agricultural practices, natural dyeing and green financing.
