Indonesian Recycler is Tackling the Country’s Garbage Problem

 

Indonesia faces a growing environmental challenge: plastic waste. As the world’s second-largest contributor to marine plastic pollution, the country urgently needs solutions. One promising initiative is Amandina Bumi Nusantara, a PET recycling company founded in 2022 by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Indonesia and Dynapack Asia.

 

With limited public infrastructure for waste management, Amandina took a bold step by building one of Indonesia’s most advanced PET recycling plants near Jakarta. Partnering with Krones, a global leader in recycling technology, the plant was completed in just 14 months and now processes over 100 tons of PET daily, employing more than 150 people.

 

But building the plant was only half the challenge. Indonesia lacks a centralized system for collecting plastic bottles. To address this, Amandina and its partners launched the Mahija Parahita Nusantara Foundation, which created a grassroots collection network. Local waste pickers—called “recycling heroes”—gather PET bottles from landfills and receive fair wages and social benefits, including education for their children.

 

Once collected, the bottles are sorted, ground, and washed using Krones’ MetaPure W system, which separates PET from other materials with high precision. The result: clean, high-quality rPET flakes that are either sold to processors or turned into food-grade pellets on-site. The plant produces 36,000 tons of rPET annually, primarily for the beverage industry. Its compact, automated design maximizes efficiency and space, while rigorous quality checks every 15 minutes ensure top-grade output.

 

Amandina’s success shows how private-sector innovation can drive environmental and social impact. By combining cutting-edge technology with community empowerment, the company is helping Indonesia move toward a circular economy—one bottle at a time.