Alba Group, the Germany-based materials, recycling, and environmental services company, is investing around EUR 55 million (USD 60 million) in developing a new PET waste processing facility in Kendal Industrial Park (KIP) in Central Java.
Alba Group Asia’s chairman and owner claimed that the investment was made to help Indonesia’s target of decreasing plastic leakage to the ocean by 70% by 2025 and to near zero by 2040. According to the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, roughly 8 to 12 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year, with Indonesia being a global top contributor with an estimated 600,000 tons.
Alba Group formed a joint venture with Tridi Oasis Group, under the name of PT Alba Tridi Plastics Recycling Indonesia. Based on the technology offered by equipment manufacturers in Asia and Europe, as well as the knowledge of Alba’s Interzero brand, the new factory will have the potential to process 48,000 tons of PET bottles per year, diverting them from landfills, open burning, or leaking into the ocean. The factory will have a capacity of 36,000 tons of recycled PET and is set to open in 2025, according to the director of PT Alba Tridi Plastics Recycling Indonesia and the founder of PT Tridi Oasis Group.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund granted the USD 44.2 million blue loan for the construction of the factory. Blue loans are funding mechanisms that aim to conserve underwater ecosystems, ensure access to clean water, and invest in a sustainable water economy. The certified blue loan complies with the ADB’s Ocean Finance Framework and the investment requirements outlined in its Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economies.
(Source: Sustainable Plastics)