Pasuruan, 30 June 2021 – As part of the commitments to managing and reducing the plastic waste in Indonesia, PT Veolia Services Indonesia (Veolia Indonesia) in partnership with PT Tirta Investama (Danone-AQUA) today inaugurated the largest and the most modern recycling and reprocessing factory for used PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) plastic bottles in Indonesia. The inauguration ceremony of the facility, built on a 22,000 square meter land and 7,000 square meter building, is attended by Industry Minister of the Republic Indonesia Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita together with CEO Veolia Southeast Asia Sven Beraud-Sudreau and Danone-AQUA President Director Connie Ang.

Situated in the Pasuruan Industrial Estate Rembang (PIER) Industrial Zone in Rembang District, Pasuruan Regency, East Java, the construction of the factory was started in March 2019. Veolia Indonesia’s plastic recycling factory currently has a capacity of producing up to 25,000 tons per year of food-grade recycled PET Plastic (rPET) which has met food safety standards (food grade) and halal certification.

Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, Minister of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia, said, “We believe with the investment of this PET plastic recycling factory from PT Veolia Services Indonesia with a capacity of 25,000 tons per year will strengthen the recycling ecosystem as well as the circular economy implementation while also increasing the plastic wastes collection rate in Indonesia as part of efforts to support the government in overcoming the plastic wastes issues, especially up to 70 percent in the ocean by 2025. The establishment of this PET plastic recycling factory by PT Veolia Services Indonesia and Danone-AQUA by utilizing plastic wastes exhibits strong commitments from both companies in supporting the sustainable development. I express my utmost appreciation to Veolia Services Indonesia and Danone-AQUA on their success in establishing this PET plastic recycling facility.”

Sven Beraud-Sudreau, CEO Veolia Southeast Asia, said, “We have forged cooperation with the governments in a number of countries to help the plastic waste management. By operating recycling facilities equipped with the latest technology, Veolia has helped decrease plastic waste in those countries. It is our utmost pride to be trusted by and collaborate with the Indonesian government and also our partner Danone-AQUA to operate the largest and most modern recycling plant in Indonesia, in meeting the company’s needs of recycled plastic raw materials for their products.”

Connie Ang, President Director of Danone-AQUA said, “As a pioneer of the circular economy, Danone-AQUA is committed to continuing to support the Indonesian government in solving the plastic waste challenge in Indonesia through the #BijakBerplastik movement. These include efforts to collect plastic waste and accelerate packaging innovation. In line with this, the partnership built with Veolia Indonesia will be able to increase the volume of recycled PET plastic or rPET used in all of our bottles by up to 3 times compared to current usage. This is a concrete manifestation of our commitment as a pioneer of the circular economy which has proven to be one of the solutions to environmental problems as well as a driving force for the growth of the national economy, including improving the welfare of workers in the solid waste sector, the majority of whom come from the informal sector.”.

Veolia Indonesia is a local entity of Veolia Group, a French-based global benchmark company for ecological transformation that has strong experiences and expertise in plastic recycling and reprocessing that is bolstered by the latest technology. Danone-AQUA supports the operation of Veolia Indonesia by becoming the main consumer while ensuring the sustainability of an inclusive used PET plastic bottle supply chain through efforts to improve the welfare of scavengers and TPS3R (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Waste Management Center) workers in 4 districts in Indonesia, under the auspices of project Inclusive Recycling Indonesia or Recycling Inclusive Indonesia

Currently, all Danone-AQUA plastic bottle packaging contains up to 25% recycled material and in 2019, Danone-AQUA launched the first drinking water bottle in Indonesia made of 100% recycled PET plastic (AQUA Life). Therefore, the partnership with Veolia Indonesia will not only help to increase efforts to collect and recycle plastic waste in Indonesia, but also ensure the use of plastic bottles that are more environmentally friendly with an adequate supply of raw materials.

The recycled used plastic bottles into new bottled water products produced in the factory have been tested in accordance with the global food safety standard and obtained a halal certificate. The factory also absorbs more than 200 local workers and is supported by modern technology in which the machines can sort the caps and labels at once quickly.

Through the establishment of the plastic recycling factory, Veolia Indonesia and Danone-AQUA contribute to Indonesia’s social and environmental aspects, to support the government's target of reducing plastic waste in the sea by 70% by 2025 and making Indonesia cleaner.