Jakarta. Beverage giant Coca-Cola has partnered with Southeast Asia’s super app Grab to launch the ‘Recycle Me’ recycling program, which seeks to nudge consumers into recycling their polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles.

This initiative is also in partnership with Yayasan Mahija Parahita Nusantara and Waste4Change.

Consumers who recycle their empty PET plastic bottles through the programs will get reward points that they can exchange for phone credits, electricity tokens, and e-wallets (electronic wallet money) on OVO. Consumers only need to submit eight used PET plastic bottles from Coca-Cola Indonesia’s range of beverage products. The Grab delivery service will deliver all the collected PET bottles to eight Mahija Parahita Nusantara collection centers located in the DKI Jakarta, Bekasi, and Tangerang areas. 

According to a press release, the first 20,000 participating consumers can get a shipping fee subsidy of up to Rp 30,000. Also, the chance to earn e-wallets worth a maximum of Rp 15,000 on OVO.

"We're on a mission to collect more empty bottles so we can make new ones with them,” Triyono Prijosoesilo, Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability Director at PT Coca-Cola Indonesia was quoted as saying in a recent press statement.

"It's a great fit with our ‘World Without Waste’ vision, under which we are working to support a closed-loop circular economy for our packaging in Indonesia," Triyono said.

Coca-Cola Indonesia in June launched bottles made from 100% recycled PET (rPET), excluding its caps and labels. Coca-Cola Indonesia said one out of every three bottles that the company introduced into the Indonesian market is made from locally produced 100% recycled PET plastic. 

Yayasan Mahija Parahita Nusantara will send the collected PET plastic bottles to Amandina Bumi Nusantara recycling facility. This is where the bottles will get recycled and become raw material so they can be converted into new bottles.

Amandina Bumi Nusantara processes locally sourced post-consumption PET bottles provided by Mahija Parahita Nusantara and converts them into new bottles, specifically into Coca-Cola’s 100% recycled PET plastic bottles. The facility is a joint cooperation between Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Indonesia (CCEP) and Dynapack Asia.

"Grab has set a Carbon Neutral and Zero Waste to Nature by 2040 goal. We believe that preserving the environment and minimizing climate change impact would ensure long-term economic success for our partners and community. Therefore, through this partnership with Coca-Cola, Yayasan Mahija Parahita Nusantara, and Waste4Change, we are actively supporting the promotion of recycling habits in Indonesia as our concrete step to achieve zero packaging waste in nature by 2040," Tirza Munusamy, Chief of Public Affairs, Grab Indonesia said.

This marks the third year of the Recycle Me program which grows in scale and partner involvement every year. Every time a consumer takes part in the program, it also helps plastic bottles to have another life.

“Once again, we look forward to consumers joining the ‘Recycle Me’ program by collecting, sorting, and sending in their empty PET plastic bottles. It’s as simple as visiting our ‘Recycle Me’ website, then the Grab delivery service will send the bottles to collecting centers managed by the Yayasan Mahija Parahita Nusantara. And, just like that, you’ve participated in #BeraniMengubah (Dare to Change) in the effort of #JagaIndonesia (Protect Indonesia),” Triyono said.

The 'Recycle Me' program will run until December 31. Visit https://www.coca-cola.com/id/id/offerings/recycle-me for more information on the Recycle Me program.