Extrusion International 2-2023-USA

54 Extrusion International 2/2023 • Promoting resource efficiency and circularity that transform waste into feedstock for recycling; • Achieving economic sustainability; • Benefitting the communities through improved public health and creating permanent job opportunities in waste and material sorting sectors. The programme’s first city partnership started in 2017 in Muncar, a coastal fishing community in Banyu- wangi Regency, East Java, Indonesia. Active support from Project STOP for the Muncar waste manage- ment system ended in February 2022 and to date, the local government authorities are continuing to op- erate the system successfully. Active support for the waste management system in Pasuruan Regency, East Java, ended in February 2023. The project continues to operate in the Jembrana Regency in Bali, and has started its expansion into the Banyuwangi Regency, East Java, with the construction of a new material re- covery facility (MRF). Thomas Gangl, CEO, Borealis, said: “Project STOP’s impressive results generated during challenging times enable us to demonstrate the important role of im - proved waste management solutions at scale, to avoid negative environmental impacts of plastic waste. This well complements Borealis’ endeavours towards a cir - cular system approach for plastics by driving reduction, reuse and design for recycling. We are proud to have achieved these results together with all our partners and thank all our local, national and international sup- porters and project partners for their commitment!” Jason Hale, Director of Operations, Ocean Plastics Asia, Systemiq, said: “In 2022, we materially increased households served and tons captured in our second and third Project STOP cities. Over 300,000 people are now participating in our waste services, and it has been offered to many more. More importantly, we completed capacity building with our local part- ners in these cities, setting these programs on course for long-term sustainability and growth. Moreover, we created a strong foundation in the Banyuwangi Regency from which we will grow our impacts at a larger scale, while building a roadmap for other Re- gencies to follow. We welcome additional funders to support this planned expansion for 2023-26, and remain proud to deliver Project STOP in partnership with strong local and national government agencies, as well as our funders and advisors.” Scaling up waste management and recycling solu- tions is challenging in Indonesia because of the financ- ing required to build and operate waste management systems, and the need for large-scale community be- haviour changes and skills development amongst waste system operators. Organic waste and some types of plastic waste (particularly multi-layer plastics made from multiple types of plastics) have very low value for recycling or composting. So far, the project has achieved participation rates ranging from 50% to 87%depending on the location, and on average slight- ly more than 30% of non- organic recyclable materials are sent for recycling across all partner communities. Project STOP’s impact was made possible through the invaluable support from Indonesia’s national and local government agencies, including the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Coordinating Min- istry for Maritime Affairs, the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Plan- ning Agency, the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing, the Banyuwangi Government, the Pasuruan Government and the Jembrana Government. In ad- dition to its founders Borealis and Systemiq, Project STOP is grateful to its strategic partnerships with leading organizations from international institutions, academia and private sectors: the Norwegian Minis- try of Foreign Affairs, Nestlé, Borouge, the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, Siegwerk, Schwarz, HP, P4G, Ac- centure, and Pisces. Borealis Group www.borealisgroup.com Systemiq www.systemiq.earth Project STOP www.stopoceanplastics.com CIRCULAR ECONOMY (Copyright: Project STOP)