SEArcular Indonesia collection and recycling project

The Greencore SEArcular project is a plastic waste collection and recycling project established in Surabaya, Indonesia in 2018. The project empowers coastal communities by providing training, employment and price premiums for the ocean bound plastic they collect. SEArcular focuses on providing an appropriate end of life for the more difficult to recycle plastic types. The project’s network of waste pickers, aggregators and suppliers collect HDPE, LDPE, PET, PP, PS and “Other” directly from beaches, waterways, streets, and bins and dumpsters located in public areas and used by individuals/households and businesses. SEArcular transports the collected and pre-sorted material to its processing facility in Surabaya where it is washed and processed into flakes and pellets. The project’s outputs are used by its customers for the production of a diverse range of recycled plastic products, including electronic componentry, luggage items, durable film and reusable poly bags. The project currently collects plastic waste in the Surabayan metropolitan area (including 66 km coastline), with its recycling centre located in Driyorejo, Gresik Regency. Indonesia is the third largest contributor to marine plastic pollution globally. Conditions prior to the implementation of this project were characterised by high rates of plastic leakage into the environment from both collected and uncollected waste. Plastic waste in Indonesia is commonly burned, left in dumpsites, or taken to landfill sites operating beyond capacity. This mismanagement has negative health consequences for large swathes of the Indonesian population. In addition, there was widespread lack of incentives for coastal communities to collect the ocean bound plastic polluting their neighbourhoods (flexible plastics in particular), creating an urgent need for an empowerment-focused project such as SEArcular's to be established.