Launched in 2017 by Borealis and Systemiq, Project Stop, an acronym for STop Ocean Plastics, this year once again is celebrating a major milestone. For the second time since the start, it is handing over the management of a city partnership to the local authorities, in this case to the local government and community in Lekok and Nguling Municipality in the Pasuruan Regency in East Java.
Supported by industry and government partners, Project Stop works with cities in Indonesia to create effective, circular waste management systems, with the aim of achieving zero leakage of waste into the environment, recycle more plastics, build economically sustainable programmes, and create economic and health benefits for local communities. The first city partnership, established in 2018 in Muncar, reached economic autonomy in February 2022, when it was handed over to the local government and community. Project STOP also operates two additional city partnerships: in Pasuruan Regency, also on the island of Java, and Jembrana Regency, on the north coast of Bali.
Nestlé was the first food and beverage company to join the project as a strategic partner and is the majority funder of STOP Pasuruan. Other funding partners Pasuruan include Siegwerk, Borealis, Borouge and Nova Chemicals.
“Our vision is that no plastic waste ends up in landfills or as litter in the environment. We are proud to have supported Project Stop to achieve its independence – and keep valuable packaging and organic residues in the economy – and out of nature,” said Prawitya Soemadijo, Director of Sustainability, Nestlé Indonesia.
The programme is founded on community participation. To date, Project Stop Pasuruan has reached 132,000 people with formal waste collection services and is both recycling and composting waste in its two material processing facilities (MRF). Each MRF has a capacity of 25 tonnes per day, creating 120 permanent jobs for the community, and collecting over 5,000 tonnes of waste, including 700 tonnes of plastic.
A handover ceremony took place at the Pasuruan regency auditorium to celebrate Lekok and Nguling’s autonomy attended by numerous government officials, local organisations, village heads, village business units, and Project Stop’s founding partners and funders
“Project STOP has been very close to our hearts ever since we created it and then initiated it together with our partner Systemiq,” said Thomas Gangl, Borealis CEO. “After Project STOP Muncar, now also Project STOP Pasuruan has "grown up” and reached economic autonomy.”
Mike Webster, Programme Director of Project STOP at Systemiq added that ‘it is wonderful to be able to hand over an established waste management system so that they can continue efforts on the ground’.