Nova Chemicals is seeing results from its plastics recycling efforts in Indonesia.
Project STOP — a recycling program started in 2017 by materials firm Borealis AG and sustainable land use and energy firm SYSTEMIQ — has to date diverted 5,500 tons of waste from the environment in Muncar, Indonesia, Todd Becker, Nova polyethylene vice president, said during the recent 2020 Global Plastics Summit.
The Muncar program started in 2018 and includes distribution of 5-gallon buckets to individual homes. The buckets are then picked up and their contents are sorted and bundled to recover value from post-user materials, Becker added.
The Muncar program serves 92,000 residents and has created 107 full-time jobs. Calgary, Alberta-based Nova now is considering adding a similar program in a nearby village.
Becker said that Nova "is about ready to hand off" the Muncar program to local officials.
"We are making an impact," he added. "No single company can do it, Collaboration is key."
In addition to Nova and materials firm Borouge Pte Ltd., other partners in project STOP include the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nestlé and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste.
Nova is one of North America's largest PE resin makers. The firm is wholly owned by Mubadala Investment Co. of Abu Dhabi.