A new generation of startups in Southeast Asia is using technology to recycle plastic waste into materials used in consumer products such as furniture and other household items. Their efforts contribute to solving the problem of plastic pollution in the oceans, which is becoming increasingly critical as countries in the region face the threat of climate change due to emissions. Greenhouse.

RECYCLING PLASTIC WASTE FOR FURNITURE PRODUCTION

As a child, Syukriyatun Niamah was encouraged by her father to explore the beauty of Indonesia by camping and hiking. But stuck in her mind from these trips is the plastic waste that is littered everywhere.
Although Indonesia, the most populous country in ASEAN, possesses tourist gems such as the peaceful resort island of Bali, the problem of plastic waste, a consequence of rapid economic development, has lost its charm. attractive other beautiful natural landscapes. Plastic packaging trash floods some of Indonesia's rivers and sometimes clogs waterways.

Those experiences prompted Niamah, now 28, to found Robries, a startup whose mission is to reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in the oceans by turning them into furniture and accessories. family such as tables and chairs, cutting boards, vases, study cabinets...

“Indonesia is a beautiful country but the problem is there is a lot of waste in the environment. When I was in college, I saw the problem of plastic waste becoming more and more serious."
The young entrepreneur studied product design before founding Robries in 2018 and applied his skills to experimenting with recycling processes that turn plastic waste into useful products.

The plastic waste that is recycled and used to produce from tables and chairs to brightly colored vases is the fruit of Niamah's research which can be seen on Robries' website. Her company is selling a chair made entirely of recycled plastic for 626,000 Indonesian rupiahs ($41), while a set of four plastic coasters costs just 150,000 rupiahs (nearly $10).

“We are looking to enter the global market. We will also soon introduce our products throughout Indonesia to educate more people and encourage them to join us in the zero-waste movement,” said Niamah.
Her fledgling company is seeking a $250,000 Series B funding round to fund a project to recycle four types of plastic waste: polypropylene, high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and high-impact polystyrene.

“We are planning to expand our recycling capacity through better systems and more efficient processes,” said Niamah. By bringing a new perspective on plastic waste, I hope to make people rethink their consumption behavior.”

Plastic waste remains a particularly problematic issue in Southeast Asia, where takeaway drinks from hot coffee to tea are often served in plastic cups and many street vendors use plastic packaging to wrap their food. Recently, some businesses have turned to paper straws, wooden utensils, and biodegradable containers but they are only a tiny fraction of those who are using difficult plastic and packaging. decompose after disposal.

The reliance on plastic is becoming more and more noticeable as the Covid-19 pandemic spurs demand for food delivery services.
“Compared to the rest of the world, South Asia and Southeast Asia use disposable plastic products more due to their low cost and convenience,” said Prak Kodali, CEO and Co-Founder. founded by pFibre (Singapore), a startup that uses biodegradable plant-based ingredients to make packaging.

ReForm Plastic (Vietnam) wants to build 100 plastic recycling factories

ASEAN eco-friendly businesses are looking to promote a “circular economy”. They hope to reduce or eliminate waste amid the urgency of governments and companies in Asia to respond to climate change.
In Vietnam, social enterprise ReForm Plastic, based in Da Nang, is operating a technology franchising model to help partners in Southeast Asia and outside to process low-value plastics into building materials. and other consumer products.

Using compression molding techniques, ReForm Plastic converts waste plastic into planks that can be used as the base material for manufacturers to shape consumer goods, just as it does with wood and metal. or cardboard.

Kasia Weina, the co-founder of ReForm Plastic, said that to date, his company has converted more than 500 tons of low-value and non-value plastic into consumer products such as furniture and trash cans. ReForm Plastic can process up to 6,000 tons of plastic waste at eight plants. The company aims to open 100 facilities around the world to process more than 100,000 tons of plastic waste annually by 2030.

Weina said: “We are set up with a model that can scale quickly, with eight facilities under operation or installation in Asia and Africa, including 2 in Myanmar, 2 in Vietnam, 1 in Bangladesh, 1 in the Philippines, 1 in Ghana and 1 in Laos. By becoming a one-stop-shop for all our indiscriminate plastic waste disposal needs, we can create a more positive environmental impact on a larger scale.”

Such efforts are significant because plastic accounts for 80% of the total waste in the world's oceans. Thailand's Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Varawut Silpa-Archa said in 2021: “The volume of solid waste and marine litter is increasing across Southeast Asia. Combined with rapid urbanization and an expanding consumer class, the long-term consequences of this are just beginning to emerge.”

The Circulate Initiative, a non-profit organization campaigning to tackle ocean plastic pollution in South and Southeast Asia, says 11 million tons of plastic waste ends up in the oceans each year, and that number is projected to increase. expected to triple by 2040.

Plastic can take hundreds of years to break down and emit greenhouse gases along the way, so stopping plastic pollution in India and Indonesia by 2030 alone would eliminate 150 million tonnes of emissions. greenhouses said the Circulate Initiative.
The challenge for startups in this field is that fundraising activities are becoming difficult at a time when investors are hesitant because of global macroeconomic uncertainties, rising interest rates, and inflationary pressures. Investment in sustainable companies fell 24% in 2022, to $159.3 billion, the lowest level in two years, according to data provider Refinitiv.

According to thesaigontimes.vn