All You Need To Know About Plastics

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Collecting recyclables in Indonesia is a good business for the informal sector. Unfortunately, scavengers, waste pickers and small recycling businesses have still much difficulty to access credit which is needed to invest in new equipment or storage facilities.

Since there are no schools to learn the job of “recyclist”, Terre des hommes Italia conducted last Spring a series of trainings for scavengers in the post-tsunami area of Aceh. Those trainings that were implemented within the framework of UNDP’s Tsunami Waste Management Livelihoods Program – Round III had a special focus on plastic sorting and business planning.

An important component of UNDP’s program is to increase the knowledge of people involved with recycling: itinerant buyers, waste pickers, scavengers, leaders and workers of small junkshops. The idea is that building the capacity of the informal recycling sector helps reduce the amount of waste being sent to the landfills and increase the livelihoods of many individuals.

From March to May, 270 “recyclists” were trained in Aceh by Terre des Hommes Italia. Learning about how the waste market works, how prices of recyclables are fixed, how to sort the material collected by type and quality, how to reduce health risks on the job, how to write a business plan were among the main topics. A total of 87 women and 183 men participated in the trainings.

Each participant attended a 3-day session. The first day was dedicated to the theory of waste; the second day to waste sorting and occupational safety; the third day to business planning. In the end of each session, tetanus injections were distributed to each participant, together with a small safety & protection kit including masks, gloves, caps, boots and a machete.

The trainings were facilitated by two local NGOs –  Yayasan Paramadina Semesta (YPS) on the West Coast and Palapa Plastic Recycling Foundation (PPR) on the East Coast.

Most of the participants were pleased to learn more about plastics which compose a great portion of the total waste volume in Aceh.

Thermoplastics, for instance,  that make up to 80% of the plastics produced today are divided in several groups (1 to 7), each of them having its own resin code. Depending on the group to which the plastic items belong, they have a different price on the market. In practice, by sorting plastics by type, colour and quality, one can get a better price when selling them to local traders.

Participants learned about the various types, quality and colours of plastics, and about the simple tests that can be used to distinguish them. Generally speaking, the key for successful recycling is the quality of the material collected. Factories are ready to pay a good price for uncontaminated and clean material.

Besides the theory on waste and plastic sorting, participants had the opportunity to visit a recycling point to put what they had learned in practice. Using their new tools and equipment,  they were assisted by senior “recyclists” who gave them practical tips.

More about recycling plastics: click here

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“By collecting waste I can send my children to school”

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One of the components of UNDP’s Waste Management Livelihoods Program implemented by Terre des Hommes Italia in Aceh is the training of scavengers and people who own junk shops. They learn how they can better sort recyclable and write a business proposal so that they have more chance to access credit and invest in their business.

One of the participants of the “Waste Sorting and Business Plan Training” is Mrs. Rukiah. She is 31 years old and has five children. A few days after the Tsunami she started a small recycling business with her husband. Since her divorce 9 months ago, she has to take care of the children herself. Because she was used to help her husband with his recycling business, she took it over after his departure. Since then, she managed to get two brand new Honda Revo’s motorcycles that she transformed in becaks – tricycles with a small platform that are used by scavengers in Aceh. Although these motorbikes were bought with credit, she is able to pay it back. It costs her 1.400.000 IDR (140 euro) per month. Beside these assets, she also owns her own scale and a shelter where she can store the recyclables she collects every day. This store and the small piece of land where she operates the business is rented for six years. With their job, she makes about 6.000.000 IDR per month, which is enough to pay her debts and cover the living expenses of her family. 600 euro per month is actually quite a good wage in Indonesia!

Luckily for Mrs. Rukiah there are many recyclables to collect in her area. This is a good business opportunity for her. She likes to sort different kinds of plastics and to pack bottles, but she does not like to handle the plastic bags used for transfusions in hospitals; they smell horrible and sometimes there is still blood on them!!

From time to time, Mrs. Rukiah receive the assistance of her eldest children in handling her business. After school, they help her with sorting and weighing recyclables. She also gets some help from two of her nephews. In that way, the business is going smooth and she is able to make a good living.

Mrs. Rukiah is very grateful to Terre des Hommes Italia for the trainings she received. She learned something more about the different prices for recyclables, the various types of plastics, and how to write a business plan. This business plan will make it easier to get some support for her business from local banks or credit institutions.

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