Project STOP Jembrana Successfully Hands Over Waste Management Program, Achieving Circular Economy Goals in Bali

Project STOP Jembrana Successfully Hands Over Waste Management Program, Achieving Circular Economy Goals in Bali

(IN BRIEF) Project STOP Jembrana, funded by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, has successfully implemented a waste management system in Bali, Indonesia, offering waste collection services to over 124,800 people and collecting more than 12,959 tonnes of waste, including 1,528 tonnes of plastic, since 2019. The program has created 86 jobs and reached financial sustainability. Now, the program has been handed over to the local government and community, demonstrating the success of public-private partnerships in reducing waste and plastic pollution.

(PRESS RELEASE) VIENNA, 5-Aug-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — Project STOP celebrates yet another major milestone this year: the handover of its third city partnership, in the Jembrana Regency, Bali, demonstrating that public-private partnerships can work to permanently reduce waste and plastics leakage into the environment and support circularity of materials. Going forward, the program will be managed by local government and the community.

To date, Project STOP Jembrana has offered formal waste collection services to more than 124,800 people and is both sorting waste for recycling and composting waste in its material processing facility based at Peh landfill, near Negara municipality. The material recovery facility (MRF) has a capacity of processing 50 tonnes of post-consumer organics- and inorganics waste per day, created 86 permanent jobs in the community, and has to date collected over 12,959 tonnes of waste, including 1,528 tonnes of plastic.

”As one of the earliest projects funded by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, we are pleased to reach the important milestone of handing over a fully functional and economically viable waste management system to the Regency of Jembrana.” said Nicholas Kolesch, Vice President of Projects at the Alliance. “Our team has worked hand-in-hand with Project STOP under challenging conditions since the project was launched in late 2019. The project has provided valuable learnings that continue to be applied across our portfolio, not least in the Bersih Indonesia Eliminasi Sampah Plastik program that is getting underway in Java.”

Project STOP has worked in close partnership with the Regency government and related local agencies, with the facility formally handed over to them during a meeting in June 2023. The handover of the program to the local government signifies the transition of responsibilities and the enduring impact of Project STOP in Jembrana. It highlights the local government’s commitment to sustaining the progress made and further developing the waste management infrastructure to ensure a cleaner, healthier environment for the community.

Project STOP Jembrana celebrates a number of important firsts for Project STOP, including:

• First co-located sorting facility, composting operation, and landfill, allowing for efficient handling of incoming materials.
• First transfer station to efficiently move material from more distant villages.
• First competition to involve and engage villages to receive service.

The Jembrana government has embraced the system, taken full ownership of it, and already has plans for service expansion. Project STOP has been foundational in terms of future circular waste management expansion in the region and nationwide and other systems have already taken on its learnings.

“Collaboration is one of the important keys in implementing circular waste services and making them accessible to the community. Since 2019, our joint work with Project STOP in Jembrana has resulted in a number of achievements – from policies, a waste management institution, systems, and infrastructures to collect and process waste, and providing new job opportunities in the waste sector. The system is now sustainably implemented by the government and the community. With utmost optimism we trust that it will serve the people in Jembrana and keep our environment healthy and clean.” says I Nengah Tamba, Regent of Jembrana.

Thomas Gangl, Borealis CEO, says: “With the approach developed jointly with our partners, the Alliance To End Plastic Waste, Systemiq, and the Jembrana Regency, we were able to demonstrate how an effective and cost-efficient waste management system works – from concept development towards implementation. It is great to see that we have inspired the Alliance To End Plastic Waste to further roll-out waste management systems in Indonesia based on learnings made through Project STOP, which provided the blueprint. Ultimately, collaboration is key to scaling waste management systems further for the benefit of communities and the environment. There is no time to waste.”

Project STOP is a bold initiative that is taking a radical approach to stop environmental leakage by creating comprehensive, economically sustainable waste management systems in areas of high plastic leakage into the ocean and low waste collection coverage. Co-founded by Borealis and Systemiq in 2017, the project operates under formal agreements with the Government of Indonesia and local government authorities. At the national level, Project STOP supports ministries with setting goals and creating enabling environments for success. At the regional level, a team of mainly Indonesian experts in waste management, plastic recycling, organics management, behavour change, and program governance works hand in hand with local government authorities to design and then implement a low-cost waste management system in which all households and institutions benefit from collection, and plastics are kept out of the environment.

“Transforming waste management systems requires long-term support and partnerships. We are grateful to all supporters, funders, and stakeholders who have been instrumental in realizing this milestone, notably including national, provincial, regional, and local government partners in Indonesia. Their unwavering support and shared vision have been instrumental in driving lasting change in circular economy practices and improving the health and well-being of local communities.” said Mike Webster, Program Director of Project STOP at Systemiq.

This media release in also available in German language.

About Project STOP

Launched in 2017 by Borealis and Systemiq, Project STOP works hand-in-hand with city governments to create effective circular waste management systems in high-need areas of Indonesia. The initiative supports cities with technical expertise to reduce waste leakage into the environment, increase recycling, build economically sustainable programs, creating new jobs and reducing the harmful impact of mismanaged waste on public health, tourism, and fisheries. The first city partnership was established in 2017 in the municipality of Muncar, East Java. In February 2022, Project STOP Muncar was handed over to the local government and community. Now the program expands to the Banyuwangi regency – combining a regency level waste system model with a material aggregator into a circular waste and recycling solution that can transform waste economics. Project STOP also operates two additional city partnerships, in Pasuruan Regency, East Java – where the program is now fully owned by local authorities and the community in February 2023, and Jembrana Regency, in Bali, fully handed over to the Jembrana regency government in June 2023.

Project STOP’s corporate partners include the Nestlé, Borouge, the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, Siegwerk, Schwarz, and HP, with support from Trusts & Foundations, P4G and Accenture, including Academia, Pisces. Project STOP’s success is in large part thanks to these collaborations as well as its close partnership with Norwegian government, USAID, local and national government offices in Indonesia, including the National Ministry for Environment and Forestry (KLHK) which it has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs (CMMAI) and the Regency governments in the regions it works. STOP now has a team of 30 committed environmental leaders.
For more information on Project STOP:

Website: www.stopoceanplastics.com

About The Alliance To End Plastic Waste
The Alliance is a global laboratory helping to develop new technologies, evolving business models and uncovering sustainable solutions to end plastic waste leakage in the environment. As a global non-profit, the Alliance convenes more than 70 companies across the plastic value chain with local communities, civil society groups, intergovernmental organisations, and governments. The collective know-how, experience and resources of this global network enable the current portfolio of more than 50 projects. Find out more: endplasticwaste.org

About Borealis
Borealis is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and sustainable polyolefin solutions. In Europe, Borealis is also an innovative leader in polyolefins recycling and a major producer of base chemicals. We leverage our polymer expertise and decades of experience to offer value-adding, innovative and circular material solutions for key industries such as consumer products, energy, healthcare, infrastructure and mobility.

With operations in over 120 countries and head offices in Vienna, Austria, Borealis employs around 6,000 people. In 2022, we generated a net profit of EUR 2.1 billion. OMV, the Austria-based international oil and gas company, owns 75% of our shares. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), owns the remaining 25%.

In re-inventing essentials for sustainable living, we build on our commitment to safety, our people, innovation and technology, and performance excellence. We are accelerating the transformation to a circular economy of polyolefins and expanding our geographical footprint to better serve our customers around the globe. Our operations are augmented by two important joint ventures: Borouge (with ADNOC, headquartered in the UAE); and Baystar™ (with TotalEnergies, based in the US).
www.borealisgroup.com | www.borealiseverminds.com

About Systemiq
Systemiq was founded in 2016 to drive the achievement of the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals by transforming markets and business models in five key systems: nature and food, materials and circularity, energy, urban areas and sustainable finance. A certified B-Corp, Systemiq combines strategic advisory with high-impact on-the-ground work, and partners with business, finance, policy makers and civil society to deliver systems change. Systemiq has offices in Indonesia, the UK, France, the Netherlands and Brazil. Find out more at www.systemiq.earth

Media Contacts:

Borealis
Borealis Group Media Desk
Virginia Wieser, Lena Lehner, Karin Schober
Tel: +43 1 22 400 899 (Vienna, Austria)
E-mail: media@borealisgroup.com

Systemiq
Fadila Hapsari
Tel: +62 811 1252 6057 (Indonesia)
E-mail: fadila.hapsari@systemiq.earth

SOURCE: Borealis AG